Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Position Lessened by Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,143 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the first 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. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of DGX opened at $155.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $160.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.33.

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.