Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 25,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,435,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $1,965,923,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $229,522,000. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,246,000 after purchasing an additional 811,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $133,388,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%
DGX opened at $241.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $218.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $245.68.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.
Read Our Latest Report on Quest Diagnostics
Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics
In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was 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 owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.
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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