Inscription Capital LLC Takes $862,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,095 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 44,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,850,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $1,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.0%

DGX opened at $182.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.21 and its 200-day moving average is $165.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $135.47 and a one year high of $182.38.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics 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.