Truist Financial Corp Purchases 2,640 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $136.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $145.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.94 and a 200-day moving average of $132.04.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,910 shares of company stock valued at $2,159,602. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

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.