Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Invests $676,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,357 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 51.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.1% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 22,676 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 33.1% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMPACTfolio LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $148.67 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.20. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.10 and a 52-week high of $159.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 company 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.