Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,316 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other 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 value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $154.42 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $159.36. 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 cap of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

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.