Twinbeech Capital LP Makes New $3.03 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,049 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,025,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,940,814.58. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,589 shares of company stock worth $9,251,080 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $178.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $179.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.