Olstein Capital Management L.P. Has $8.92 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for 1.5% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Olstein Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $8,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DGX. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $4.26 on Wednesday, reaching $140.90. The stock had a trading volume of 808,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,989. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.74.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.