Prudential PLC Acquires 1,300 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Prudential PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $9,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,917 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $91,541,000 after acquiring an additional 17,085 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $124,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $154.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.07 and its 200-day moving average is $139.26. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.