Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $207,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14,887.6% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,331,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302,510 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 46,022.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,914,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,403 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 380.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $206,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,403 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 62.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,728,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,073,000 after buying an additional 1,046,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $157,412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.1 %

DGX opened at $133.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $158.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.03. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 42.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $136.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $142.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.80.

Quest Diagnostics 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.