Private Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Private Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after buying an additional 104,495 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $171.54 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.66 and a 1-year high of $176.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.