Inscription Capital LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Inscription Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,095 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,649 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $12,800,000 after buying an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $1,172,000. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 2,788 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded down $0.47 on Friday, hitting $179.31. 1,016,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,460. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $135.47 and a 12 month high of $182.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.13.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

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.