Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 84,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,175,000 after acquiring an additional 19,570 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.9 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $169.09 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.30 and a fifty-two week high of $169.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $155.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.