First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5 %

DGX stock opened at $149.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.01. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $120.87 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 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 Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.92.

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.