Sigma Planning Corp Has $834,000 Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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. Davis Selected Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,257,000 after buying an additional 9,665 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after purchasing an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 461,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $71,500,000 after purchasing an additional 13,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $160.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $153.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $162.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics 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.