Cambiar Investors LLC Has $11.98 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cambiar Investors LLC decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,196 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC owned 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $11,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,261 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,301,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 250.2% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 15,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of DGX opened at $165.16 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.30 and a 12-month high of $167.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.