Steph & Co. Invests $684,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $83,070,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after buying an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $46,342,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $139.77. 115,295 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,111. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $145.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.71.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.