Caprock Group LLC Acquires 593 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 22.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 593 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $140,472,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $46,342,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $154.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.65.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. 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 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.