1,353 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Bought by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,353 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

DGX stock opened at $148.67 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $120.10 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $152.51 and its 200 day moving average is $143.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler increased 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.92.

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.