Commerce Bank Has $2.35 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Commerce Bank lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,165 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $163.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised 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 raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, 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 14.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 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.