Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,140,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $347,000. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 195,939 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,546,000 after buying an additional 63,952 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,137,114 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $171,545,000 after purchasing an additional 23,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $163.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 64,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,533. The firm has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.77. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.