Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,737 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,049,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised shares of 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. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.08.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded down $2.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $155.71. The company had a trading volume of 914,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.40 and a 200-day moving average of $150.15. The company has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

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.