Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Acquires Shares of 1,460 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $4,178,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $630,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 167,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,301,000 after buying an additional 21,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $175.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.09 and a 12 month high of $178.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.