Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Has $4.52 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 10,903 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 19.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 326.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 12,154 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 73.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 863 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 63.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $160.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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