Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 942 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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 upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.92.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’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 value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $148.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $152.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $120.87 and a 12-month high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

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.