Net Worth Advisory Group Takes $999,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,433 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $149.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.67 and a 200 day moving average of $143.93. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $120.87 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The stock has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.