TIAA Trust National Association Invests $270,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association has made a new investment in Quest Diagnostics, acquiring 1,594 shares valued at approximately $270,000.
15.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with quarterly earnings per share (EPS) surpassing analysts' expectations at $2.62.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was set at $0.80 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a yield of 1.8%.

TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,594 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 value of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DGX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $2.82 on Friday, hitting $177.09. 616,267 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,187,030. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $146.17 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.75.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for 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%. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

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.