Raymond James Trust N.A. Raises Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have 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 worth about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1 %

DGX opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % 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.