Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 3,210 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,825 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $164,896,000 after buying an additional 497,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $67,447,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $177.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,205,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,467. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $175.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.81.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of 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 shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

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.