Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,665 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 681,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $90,733,000 after buying an additional 79,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $148.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.10 and a 52-week high of $159.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.34. The company has a market capitalization of $16.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.92.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was 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.