Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 20,167 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $164.08 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 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.