Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Position Raised by Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 131.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,365 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% during the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.50.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $190.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.27. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.