Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Holdings Boosted by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,695 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics worth $19,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 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.