Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 2,447 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,447 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE DGX traded down $1.39 on Friday, reaching $166.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,557,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,002,358. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $137.71 and a 1 year high of $182.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.15 and a 200-day moving average of $168.84. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date 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.