Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,432 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 863 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 548.7% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,125,530 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $149,673,000 after purchasing an additional 952,037 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,917,961,000 after purchasing an additional 636,301 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,778,000. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,153,772 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $153,429,000 after buying an additional 342,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,223,518 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $395,494,000 after buying an additional 210,961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $200,109.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,577,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $134.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.90. The company has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.40 and a 52-week high of $158.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical research company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm's revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.00.

About Quest Diagnostics

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Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.

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