Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Has $1.67 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 372.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.1%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $211.12 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $165.78 and a fifty-two week high of $219.20. The stock has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.73.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.