Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 132.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,297 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,583 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 279,105 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,152,000 after purchasing an additional 33,080 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth about $153,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 24,029 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 26.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 278.3% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 6,892 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.75. 994,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 916,338. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $153.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

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.