Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 12,565 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,565 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $109,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,049,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $162.49 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $154.97 and its 200 day moving average is $148.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Mizuho lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.