Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stake Lifted by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $163.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.