Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,926 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $35,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $182.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $173.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $182.38.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

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.

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