Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 46,022.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,914,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,910,403 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.71% of Quest Diagnostics worth $270,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 220.5% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,959 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,604 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 23,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,319,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. WBH Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 188,756 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,598,000 after acquiring an additional 57,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.3% in the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $130.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.76. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $120.40 and a twelve month high of $158.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DGX. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.90.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.