Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) is IVY Lane Capital Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

IVY Lane Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics comprises approximately 5.0% of IVY Lane Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. IVY Lane Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 26.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $729,000. Arjuna Capital lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 406,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,222,000 after buying an additional 11,912 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $160.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.99 and a 200-day moving average of $147.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.