J.Safra Asset Management Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $175.16 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.18. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $124.25 and a fifty-two week high of $178.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.