IFP Advisors Inc Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1,544.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying 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 and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 25,020 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 28,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of DGX 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 fifty-two week low of $123.66 and a fifty-two week high of $176.44. The firm has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics 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.