2,361 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Bought by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,361 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 98.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after buying an additional 9,396 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,079,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $109,933,000 after purchasing an additional 12,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,292,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. 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 50-day moving average of $165.18 and a 200 day moving average of $158.64.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.