Independent Advisor Alliance Purchases 178 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 178,191 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,719,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 218.2% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,718 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 7,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 7,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 3,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $163.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.90. The stock has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

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.