Empowered Funds LLC Buys 9,559 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 92.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,920 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 9,559 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $162.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.54. The company has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

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.