Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,786 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,396 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for 1.2% of Palumbo Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $115,621,000 after purchasing an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $109,933,000 after buying an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $171.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,447,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,004. The firm has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.30 and a fifty-two week high of $172.64.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.69.

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.