Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 293,190 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.26% of Quest Diagnostics worth $40,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,242,000 after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 9,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 226.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 102,258 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,400,000 after buying an additional 70,922 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $154.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

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.