E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Has $357,000 Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 74.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $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 bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE DGX opened at $175.49 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $161.74 and its 200-day moving average is $157.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.09 and a one year high of $178.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 predict 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.