ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 115.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,674 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,541 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,342,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $154.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $159.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

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.