US Bancorp DE Has $3.68 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’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 directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $171.79 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $124.25 and a 52-week high of $178.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (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, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. 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 yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.