Occidental Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,341 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $479,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $140,472,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $136.88. 1,284,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,392. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.67.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.