Wasatch Advisors LP Buys New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 35,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,747,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $479,357,000 after buying an additional 62,114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after buying an additional 18,533 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after buying an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $140,472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.64. 996,968 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,431. The stock has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $145.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $139.22 and a 200 day moving average of $133.74.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 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 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.