WCM Investment Management LLC Purchases 1,647 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 86.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,542 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in 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 in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $115,621,000 after acquiring an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $109,933,000 after acquiring an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $168.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,327,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,481. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.80. The firm has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.30 and a 12-month high of $171.30.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.69.

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.