Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Reduces Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,703 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,506 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $342,300,000 after buying an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $191,823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DGX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045 over the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $178.71 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $135.47 and a 52 week high of $182.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

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.

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