GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,992 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,164 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,992 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company'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 transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 a total of 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.71. The stock had a trading volume of 738,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,020. The firm has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $135.47 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $174.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.60.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

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.