Covestor Ltd Has $283,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Covestor Ltd lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $159.37 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $160.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $153.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.67. The stock has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.