Cwm LLC Increases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,261 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in 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 period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on DGX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE DGX opened at $148.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $120.10 and a twelve month high of $159.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.51 and its 200 day moving average is $143.44.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.