Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 1,380 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $177.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.94. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $182.38. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.16% 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.