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

Private Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing 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).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,110,000 after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,392,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 44,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,660,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 16,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 113,956 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $171.54 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.58. The company has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.66 and a 1-year high of $176.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research 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 given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

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.