SVB Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 68,575 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 68,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,345,000. SVB Wealth LLC owned about 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DGX. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.66 and a twelve month high of $176.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.63 and a 200 day moving average of $156.73.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.