MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $4.49 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 690 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $162.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.28.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.