Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Position Boosted by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 4,876.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,721 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 79,099 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC owned about 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $12,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,717 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 5,054 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $178.18. 994,516 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 984,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $170.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $135.47 and a 1 year high of $179.99. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,124 shares of company stock worth $9,341,875 over the last 90 days. Company 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.