Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 20.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 854 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $117,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $156.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.85. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $157.34. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

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.