Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $152.99 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $159.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.99.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous 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. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.