SVB Wealth LLC Makes New $10.35 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 68,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,345,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,852 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,466 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 20.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,348 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.66 and a 1 year high of $176.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.73.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.