Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $288,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 3,889 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 191,048 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,165,000 after acquiring an additional 34,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 68,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,316,000 after acquiring an additional 12,298 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Barclays started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $128.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $148.62. The company has a market capitalization of $14.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. 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 2.33%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

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.