Seven Eight Capital LP Buys New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,474 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $1,483,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $6.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $140.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,893,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,518. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.33. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $150.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.