Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,396 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,786 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,396 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up about 1.2% of Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % 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 Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $168.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.07. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year high of $171.30.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.