ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys Shares of 8,324 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 8,324 shares of Quest Diagnostics, valued at approximately $1.4 million, marking a significant investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics reported $2.62 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 15.2% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company's stock has received multiple price target upgrades from analysts, with an average target price of $186 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,324 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,408,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 423.7% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 26.8% during the first quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 13,074 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,212,000 after buying an additional 2,764 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 31.0% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 52,621 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,903,000 after buying an additional 12,464 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 31,645 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,014 shares of company stock worth $2,728,556 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight 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 $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.7%

DGX stock traded up $1.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $178.29. The company had a trading volume of 653,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,503. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $182.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.27 and a 200-day moving average of $171.35. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 38.32%.

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.