Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 3,724 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 42,319 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,724 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $350,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,285,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $166.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $137.71 and a 1 year high of $182.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.74. The company has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.46%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.