Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE DGX opened at $152.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.