LMR Partners LLP Makes New $1.02 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 329,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $51,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 98.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after buying an additional 9,396 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE DGX opened at $161.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $154.15 and its 200 day moving average is $147.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $162.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.