5,745 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $140,472,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 41,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,710,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $155.12 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $159.36. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.68. The firm has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, 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 on the stock. Nine investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

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.