WCM Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 86.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $165.16 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.30 and a 12 month high of $167.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its 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%. Equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.