Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Makes New $201,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $151.25 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.65. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The firm has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.15.

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.