Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 33.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,214 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $147.81 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.20. 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 twelve month low of $120.10 and a twelve month high of $159.36. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.