Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stake Increased by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its Quest Diagnostics stake by 21.8% in the third quarter, adding 26,172 shares to reach 146,410 shares valued at about $34.2 million. Institutional investors collectively owned 88.06% of the company’s stock.
• Quest reported quarterly earnings of $3.00 per share, topping the $2.87 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.10 billion also beat expectations and rose 10% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average target price of $248.70. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 1.3%.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 21.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,410 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,172 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.13% of Quest Diagnostics worth $34,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.3% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,565 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. General American Investors Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 249.6% during the 3rd quarter. General American Investors Co. Inc. now owns 98,869 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $23,043,000 after acquiring an additional 70,585 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $738,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 88,732 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $20,681,000 after purchasing an additional 44,680 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $255.36 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $259.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54. The company's fifty day moving average price is $239.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Catherine Doherty sold 22,105 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total value of $5,482,482.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 71,949 shares in the company, valued at $17,844,790.98. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $13,715,017 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing.

The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.

Quest Diagnostics traces its roots to a clinical laboratory established in 1967 and became an independent company in 1996 after being spun off from Corning.

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