Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,342,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of 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. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE DGX opened at $155.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $151.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. 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.