Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Has $254,000 Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. drastically reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 81.3%, now owning only 1,500 shares worth $254,000 after selling 6,500 shares.
• Price T Rowe Associates increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5%, now owning 5,490,278 shares valued at $828,265,000.
• Quest Diagnostics reported $2.62 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, alongside a quarterly revenue of $2.76 billion.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 81.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,500 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,293,000 after acquiring an additional 443,094 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,698,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,196,429 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $180,493,000 after purchasing an additional 188,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,839,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,353 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,510 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded up $1.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $174.28. 898,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,421,171. The company has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 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 fifty-two week low of $145.43 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $174.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.75.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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