Cwm LLC Acquires 232 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cwm LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $135.47 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $147.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.