IFP Advisors Inc Acquires 14,579 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1,544.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,579 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $175.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.99 and a 200-day moving average of $156.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.66 and a 1 year high of $176.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.