Cerity Partners LLC decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,938 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 738 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $260,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.7% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 234,814 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,137,000 after purchasing an additional 18,855 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 38,776 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,709,000 after purchasing an additional 12,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.89% of the company’s stock.
In related news, CEO Stephen H. Rusckowski sold 282,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.12, for a total transaction of $39,571,008.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 334,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,916,799.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 50,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.97, for a total transaction of $7,083,041.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,490,183.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 335,012 shares of company stock valued at $46,920,991 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.
Shares of DGX stock opened at $133.09 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $174.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.03.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.31. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 17.61% and a return on equity of 27.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.76 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 6th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 17.58%.
Several brokerages have issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Sunday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.33.
Quest Diagnostics Company Profile (Get Rating)
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.
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