Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys Shares of 8,854 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired approximately $1.50 million worth of shares in Quest Diagnostics, totaling 8,854 shares, as disclosed in a recent SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Quest Diagnostics, with hedge funds currently owning 88.06% of the company's stock.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, surpassing estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.2% and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,854 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,498,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,140,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $3.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $170.81. 1,421,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,363,318. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $144.87 and a 12 month high of $182.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

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.