Capital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 21.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 952 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 191,048 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,165,000 after acquiring an additional 34,364 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 68,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,316,000 after acquiring an additional 12,298 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $125.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $120.40 and a 1-year high of $158.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 8.37%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, June 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.90.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.