Bleakley Financial Group LLC Acquires 244 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $128.64 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.74. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $148.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.