Cerity Partners LLC Buys 6,678 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 34.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,678 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted 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 valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 3,889 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% in 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 buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 191,048 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,165,000 after buying an additional 34,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 68,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,316,000 after buying an additional 12,298 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total transaction of $703,349.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,809,145.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of DGX opened at $126.98 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $148.62. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics 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.