Isthmus Partners LLC Has $14.13 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics comprises approximately 1.7% of Isthmus Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Isthmus Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $14,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

DGX stock opened at $163.32 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.00.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

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.