Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Davis Selected Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $275,895,000 after purchasing an additional 228,271 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,847,000 after purchasing an additional 110,280 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,965,923,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
DGX opened at $244.48 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $247.19. The stock has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently commented on DGX. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.
Quest Diagnostics Company Profile
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.
Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.
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