Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 28,333 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 736,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.66% of Quest Diagnostics worth $111,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DGX. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.2 %

DGX opened at $175.49 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.09 and a fifty-two week high of $178.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $161.74 and its 200 day moving average is $157.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445 in the last ninety days. Company 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.