Meridiem Capital Partners LP Makes New $1.18 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Meridiem Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,822 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,180,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LMR Partners LLP grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 487.3% during the fourth quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 38,679 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,835,000 after acquiring an additional 32,093 shares during the period. Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 130,000 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,612,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,900 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 53,236 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,031,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,052 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,124 shares of company stock valued at $9,341,875. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE DGX traded up $1.47 on Friday, hitting $177.88. 2,133,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 985,207. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.04 and a 200 day moving average of $163.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The company has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. 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.