SpiderRock Advisors LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,946 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,070,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after acquiring an additional 538,377 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after acquiring an additional 388,162 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,342,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $140.06. 345,918 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 984,751. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $139.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $145.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. 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.