Winnow Wealth LLC Purchases New Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 0.9% of Winnow Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.27.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $186.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $181.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.53. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.