Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 62,114 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,114 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $479,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.44. The stock had a trading volume of 181,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,099. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $145.58. The company has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.53.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.17.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.