Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $4.28 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,580 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $4,282,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE DGX traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $161.63. 261,879 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 915,078. The company's 50 day moving average price is $155.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

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.