Check Capital Management Inc. CA Has $20.57 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Check Capital Management Inc. CA lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 149,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 18,578 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 0.8% of Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $20,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,917,961,000 after purchasing an additional 636,301 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,414,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,093,000 after purchasing an additional 180,889 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,557,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,946. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $148.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.28 and its 200 day moving average is $130.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

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.