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

Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $2,043,000. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. They set an “inline” rating and a $159.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.91.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $131.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $143.40 and its 200 day moving average is $141.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.40 and a 52-week high of $158.34.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $200,109.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,577,604.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.