Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 289 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,093 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 289 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DGX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. 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. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $156.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.