Arjuna Capital Buys 23,128 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Arjuna Capital increased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 1,295.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,914 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 23,128 shares during the quarter. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $327,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,665 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the second 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. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 461,887 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $71,500,000 after purchasing an additional 13,938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.55. The stock had a trading volume of 796,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,794. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $153.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.10. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $162.59. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

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.