3,100 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Purchased by Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,796 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,562,000 after acquiring an additional 14,090 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 135,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,634,000 after buying an additional 7,415 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,562,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,481,000 after acquiring an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,065,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,285. The firm has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $151.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.66 and a 200-day moving average of $134.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.58.

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.