JGP Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,400 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for 1.9% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC owned 0.09% of Quest Diagnostics worth $15,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $151.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

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.