Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $137.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $148.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $128.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on DGX shares. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.25.

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.