Waterloo Capital L.P. Raises Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,499 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 117.5% during the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $4,713,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,932,000 after purchasing an additional 433,764 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 14,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after buying an additional 8,112 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 144.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after buying an additional 8,518 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.27.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE DGX opened at $192.02 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

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

About Quest Diagnostics

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.