Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 4,607 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,006 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 4,607 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,305 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,107 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,042,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,476 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3%

DGX stock traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 256,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,516. The company's fifty day moving average price is $174.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.75. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $182.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510. 8.16% of the stock is 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.