Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,649 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,534 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,809,145.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,428 shares of company stock valued at $1,972,662 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $141.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.93. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $145.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 38.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

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.