Boston Common Asset Management LLC Has $17.92 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 19,795 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $17,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $4,713,000. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the third quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 140.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $184.66 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $181.95 and its 200-day moving average is $180.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.