Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $162.11 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.54. The firm has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $162.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Nine equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

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.