Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $122,528,000 after acquiring an additional 77,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.4 %

DGX opened at $168.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $163.19 and its 200-day moving average is $158.01. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.09 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.