Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.64. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.