Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Makes New $204,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,208 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $180.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $172.77 and a 200 day moving average of $165.65. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $135.47 and a 12 month high of $181.91. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.46%.

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.