Modern Wealth Management LLC Has $851,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $166.66 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.