Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,360 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions owned about 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $14,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $206.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $201.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $165.78 and a fifty-two week high of $219.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.01%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.