Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Custom Index Systems LLC

Custom Index Systems LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 79.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after buying an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded down $2.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $155.04. 814,738 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,746. 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 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $160.95. The company has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $153.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.