Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.02 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 49.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,011 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%

DGX stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $166.79. 1,557,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,003,691. The company has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $137.71 and a twelve month high of $182.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.07.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.