Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 23.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Evercore ISI started 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 for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $154.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $153.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.44. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $160.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. 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.