QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 64.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,025 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $11,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE DGX opened at $154.33 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.