Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 1,608 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,608 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 380.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $206,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,403 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,412,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 548.7% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,125,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $149,673,000 after acquiring an additional 952,037 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,917,961,000 after acquiring an additional 636,301 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after acquiring an additional 388,162 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of DGX opened at $125.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $148.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.