WCM Investment Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18.9% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,265 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 132.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 6,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.9% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 68,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $594,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at about $224,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $161.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $162.56. The company has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.