Parallel Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Parallel Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,204 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,665 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $140,472,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 681,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $90,733,000 after purchasing an additional 79,152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $155.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.80 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $149.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.48. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.