Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,390 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics comprises 1.2% of Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5 %

DGX traded down $0.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $155.10. The stock had a trading volume of 61,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,287. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $160.95. The company has a market capitalization of $17.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

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.