SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the 4th 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 Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the third 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 holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $173.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.18 and a 200-day moving average of $157.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.09 and a 12 month high of $178.87. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics 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.