Woodline Partners LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 504,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,535 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $76,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during 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 lifted its position 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 valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,525.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,124 shares of company stock valued at $9,341,875. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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 increased their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $178.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.82. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, 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 $179.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

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.