Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 386 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 59,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 11.0% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 147,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,918,000 after buying an additional 32,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 36,093 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 19,142 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,910 shares of company stock valued at $2,159,602. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $137.38 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.83. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $145.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DGX. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.17.

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.