Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $17.70 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 114,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,839 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $17,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $162.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.32. The stock has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.