Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 101.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,732 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 44,680 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $20,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.4% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,386,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 14,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:DGX opened at $255.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $171.18 and a 1 year high of $259.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $239.34 and a 200-day moving average of $213.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.70.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. This trade represents a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 22,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total transaction of $5,482,482.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 71,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,844,790.98. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $13,715,017 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing.

The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.

Quest Diagnostics traces its roots to a clinical laboratory established in 1967 and became an independent company in 1996 after being spun off from Corning.