Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Has $5.39 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,708 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,024 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $817,117,000 after buying an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $404,838,000 after acquiring an additional 39,217 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $327,257,000 after acquiring an additional 9,665 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $288,758,000 after purchasing an additional 129,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $115,621,000 after purchasing an additional 15,047 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $156.07. The company had a trading volume of 904,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,700. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm'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 value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's 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 approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.