EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) by 35.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 582,797 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for 3.5% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $439,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 19,361 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $275,895,000 after purchasing an additional 228,271 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,024,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its position 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 valued at $29,847,000 after buying an additional 110,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,460,000 after buying an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.6%
Shares of DGX opened at $231.56 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $165.78 and a twelve month high of $237.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.12. The company has a market cap of $25.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics
In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.73.
View Our Latest Research Report on DGX
Quest Diagnostics 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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