Crestmont Private Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Crestmont Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $148.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $120.10 and a one year high of $159.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $152.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.34. The company has a market capitalization of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI began 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 target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.