Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Buys 10,903 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 59.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,135 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,903 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

DGX stock traded down $1.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $158.80. The company had a trading volume of 218,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,109. 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 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $156.10 and a 200 day moving average of $149.61. The company has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.