Woodline Partners LP Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 504,596 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 31,535 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.45% of Quest Diagnostics worth $76,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,547 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,525.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,105 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,025,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,088. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $170.37 and its 200 day moving average is $164.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,940,814.58. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,985 shares of company stock valued at $9,147,802 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

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.