QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,006 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,649 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $12,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $1,172,000. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 52.6% in the first quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 2,788 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE DGX traded up $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $179.64. 618,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,355. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $135.47 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $173.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.91.

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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 8.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.