Cypress Capital Group Acquires 1,648 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 75.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $154.25. The stock had a trading volume of 79,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,391. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.03. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $154.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.