Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 98.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 9,396 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,966,000 after acquiring an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 326.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after buying an additional 12,154 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1 %

DGX opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.79. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

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.