Westpac Banking Corp Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 92.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 432 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,602 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,910 shares of company stock valued at $2,159,602. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $144.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $145.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.66 and a 200 day moving average of $132.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.22%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.