70,585 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by General American Investors Co. Inc.

General American Investors Co. Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 249.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,585 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for approximately 1.3% of General American Investors Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $23,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after acquiring an additional 582,797 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,085,000 after acquiring an additional 17,987 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $410,151,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 942,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $199,743,000 after purchasing an additional 95,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 22,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total value of $5,482,482.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 71,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,844,790.98. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,130,482.27. This represents a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $13,715,017. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $255.36. 945,171 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,796. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $239.34 and a 200 day moving average of $213.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $259.00. The company has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing.

The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.

Quest Diagnostics traces its roots to a clinical laboratory established in 1967 and became an independent company in 1996 after being spun off from Corning.