Twinbeech Capital LP Buys New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 20,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,025,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,524.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 24,023 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 22,544 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $178.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $170.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,589 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,080. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics 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.