Amalgamated Bank Has $3.24 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was 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 604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.66 and a 52 week high of $176.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s 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.