Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,687 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 50.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,796 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,562,000 after acquiring an additional 14,090 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,562,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $729,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $147.81 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.53 and its 200-day moving average is $143.20. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $120.10 and a 1 year high of $159.36. The company has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.92.

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.