Centiva Capital LP Takes $484,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,208 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,240 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 18.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 438,977 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $68,144,000 after purchasing an additional 68,844 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,201 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,717 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,124 shares of company stock worth $9,341,875 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of DGX traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.27. 1,333,815 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,970. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $135.47 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $169.84 and its 200-day moving average is $163.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

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.