Narwhal Capital Management grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) by 49.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,005 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,657 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,965,923,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $410,151,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $151,986,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $133,388,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $124,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Quest Diagnostics Price Performance
Shares of DGX stock opened at $258.15 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $259.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $240.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.44.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 12th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 34.26%.
Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics
In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,241,886. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $13,715,017. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, October 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.70.
Quest Diagnostics Company Profile
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing. The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.
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