Martin Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Martin Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,598 shares during the quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $163.43 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.18 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.81. The stock has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.54 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.