Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $154.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $159.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.21 and a 200 day moving average of $139.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.