Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys 30,488 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 271,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,488 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $40,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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 on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $142,230.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,940,814.58. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.11 and a 200-day moving average of $157.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $178.09. The company has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

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.