Acropolis Investment Management LLC Has $545,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $152.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $156.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

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