Causeway Capital Management LLC Sells 37,579 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Causeway Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 304,481 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 37,579 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 1.0% of Causeway Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Causeway Capital Management LLC owned 0.27% of Quest Diagnostics worth $45,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $163.82 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.96. The firm has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.