Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 146,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 26,172 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $34,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $255.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $259.00.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,241,886. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Catherine Doherty sold 22,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total transaction of $5,482,482.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 71,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,844,790.98. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $13,715,017. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing.

The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.

Quest Diagnostics traces its roots to a clinical laboratory established in 1967 and became an independent company in 1996 after being spun off from Corning.