Humankind Investments LLC Has $593,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Humankind Investments LLC lessened its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,301 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 366,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,128. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $145.62. The firm has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $136.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.22%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.