SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 26,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,000. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 2.1% of SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third 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. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $41,028,000 after buying an additional 206,640 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $22,049,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $157.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.24 and its 200 day moving average is $149.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.32.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

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.