AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 97.5% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 21.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 191,048 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,165,000 after acquiring an additional 34,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 68,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,316,000 after acquiring an additional 12,298 shares in the last quarter. 88.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $146.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $120.40 and a 12-month high of $158.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.95.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical research company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.08. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 24th. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.86%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $200,109.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,577,604.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.56.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.
Further Reading
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