Procyon Advisors LLC Invests $421,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,488 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business'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 value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,263 shares of company stock valued at $7,979,355 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of DGX stock traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.43. 763,075 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 988,365. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $171.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.