Wealthspire Advisors LLC Acquires 240 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,693 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE DGX opened at $173.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.66 and a 1 year high of $176.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $158.39 and its 200 day moving average is $156.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

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.