Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics, purchasing 9,645 shares valued at approximately $1.63 million, making it the firm's 22nd largest investment.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Quest Diagnostics, with some, like Continuum Advisory LLC, raising their positions by as much as 11,100% during the first quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics has experienced a revenue growth of 15.2% year-over-year, with the company reporting earnings of $2.62 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,645 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,000. Quest Diagnostics makes up about 0.6% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,601 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.9% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 112,232 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $18,990,000 after acquiring an additional 8,257 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 155.4% during the 1st quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 22,340 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 13,593 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,044 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0%

DGX stock traded up $3.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $170.81. 1,421,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,363,318. The firm's 50 day moving average is $174.01 and its 200 day moving average is $170.14. The firm has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $144.87 and a twelve month high of $182.38.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

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.