Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 343 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 35.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 751.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,757,000 after purchasing an additional 43,569 shares during the period. Finally, Atwater Malick LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 54,939 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,520,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $151.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.27. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $152.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

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, beating 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 business 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 firm posted $2.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.