WCM Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 86.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,542 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 38,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,759,000 after buying an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,066,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $165.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.34. The stock has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.30 and a one year high of $167.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.