Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $147.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $120.87 and a 1 year high of $159.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

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.