MCF Advisors LLC Acquires 187 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 179.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after acquiring an additional 538,377 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2,400.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 336,521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,008,000 after buying an additional 323,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,869,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $130.09 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $148.62. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. 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.