Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,208 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Eight research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.
Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics
In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6%
Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $180.04 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $181.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $172.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.65.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.46%.
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.
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