Continuum Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11,100.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 224 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,896,000 after acquiring an additional 497,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,447,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE DGX opened at $178.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $135.47 and a 12 month high of $182.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $175.22 and a 200-day moving average of $166.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

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.