Blair William & Co. IL Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 31% in Q1, holding 52,621 shares valued at approximately $8.9 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also significantly increased their positions in Quest Diagnostics, with 88.06% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield and a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,621 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 12,464 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 31,645 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $2,548,000. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $1,632,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,882,135. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.6%

DGX traded up $2.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.09. 616,268 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,420,387. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $174.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $182.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

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.