Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Invests $1.16 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• Persistent Asset Partners Ltd invested approximately $1.16 million in Quest Diagnostics, acquiring 6,839 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have exhibited a positive outlook for Quest Diagnostics, with a consensus price target of $186.00 and multiple "hold" and "buy" ratings from various research firms.
• Quest Diagnostics recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.62 EPS, exceeding estimates, alongside a declared dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.8%.

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,839 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,157,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $178.29 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.35. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $182.38. The company has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,014 shares of company stock worth $2,728,556 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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