Sachetta LLC Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sachetta LLC reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 499 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $152.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.45. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $159.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

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.