Clearstead Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,929 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,689 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 9,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% in the third quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.79% of the company’s stock.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
NYSE:DGX opened at $133.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.12. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.40 and a 52-week high of $158.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.95.
Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.
Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday, November 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.00.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $200,109.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,440 shares in the company, valued at $5,577,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.
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