Acropolis Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,689 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 9,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $200,109.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,577,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $131.53 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $120.40 and a one year high of $158.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.40 and its 200 day moving average is $141.15. The stock has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical research company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.08. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.91.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.