1,506 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Bought by Kentucky Trust Co

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 380.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 9,467 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $166.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $155.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.30 and a 1 year high of $168.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.