Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by International Private Wealth Advisors LLC

International Private Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $157.90. 75,992 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,994. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.10. The company has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $162.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.