Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $163.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.29. The stock has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.