Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $48,783,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position 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 valued at $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $162.59. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

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.