Point72 DIFC Ltd Purchases Shares of 15,568 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,131,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 41,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $1,473,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 23,716 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,270,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE DGX opened at $153.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $159.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.88 and a 200-day moving average of $141.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.