CIBC Asset Management Inc Sells 942 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $155.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $159.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.