Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Buys 2,022 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 92.2% in the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the sale, the director owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,241,886. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,880 shares of company stock worth $8,232,534. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, October 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $251.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $256.99. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.05.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.