Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,842,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $1,079,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 42,641 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IVY Lane Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 21.3% in the third quarter. IVY Lane Capital Management LLC now owns 57,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,849,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $164.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $164.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $154.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.98. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.