Custom Index Systems LLC Buys 356 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Custom Index Systems LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,458 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 681,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $90,733,000 after purchasing an additional 79,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,917 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $91,541,000 after purchasing an additional 17,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised shares of 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 note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.8 %

DGX stock opened at $152.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.73 and its 200 day moving average is $138.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

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.