Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $998,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after acquiring an additional 582,797 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,085,000 after purchasing an additional 17,987 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $410,151,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 942,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $199,743,000 after purchasing an additional 95,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at $7,241,886. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,880 shares of company stock worth $8,232,534. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $255.59 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $256.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $28.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $238.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.03.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.