LMR Partners LLP Purchases New Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 326.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,882 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,114,000 after buying an additional 12,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.38. 763,760 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,531. The firm has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. 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 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $162.88. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $154.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given 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 is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DGX. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.58.

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.