Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 27.5% in the first quarter, owning approximately $10.82 million worth of the company's stock.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their positions, with 88.06% of the stock currently owned by such investors, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Quest Diagnostics recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting a 1.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 38.32%.

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 27.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,955 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,789 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $10,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,293,000 after purchasing an additional 443,094 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $33,698,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,196,429 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $180,493,000 after acquiring an additional 188,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $30,839,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,728,556 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:DGX traded up $1.33 on Monday, hitting $178.29. 653,178 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,183,503. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.20 and a 200-day moving average of $171.19. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

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.