Spirit of America Management Corp NY Cuts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Spirit of America Management Corp NY lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target 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. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $163.43 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $155.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.81. The company has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.18 and a 1 year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.