AGP Franklin LLC Increases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 28.4% during the first quarter, now owning 7,307 shares worth approximately $1.22 million.
• Recent research reports show mixed reviews for Quest Diagnostics, with analysts assigning a consensus price target of $185.69 and various ratings from "buy" to "hold."
• The company reported earnings of $2.62 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 15.2%.

AGP Franklin LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,307 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares during the quarter. AGP Franklin LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in 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 period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in 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 period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% in 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 period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $168.86. The company had a trading volume of 383,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,590. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $174.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $140.71 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm 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%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics 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.