Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 68.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $203,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 549,242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $92,932,000 after purchasing an additional 102,159 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,014 shares of company stock worth $2,728,556 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $179.67 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $146.17 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

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.