Blue Trust Inc. Has $137,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 910 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,982 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,887,000 after buying an additional 14,899 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.21 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $157.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.68. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.30 and a one year high of $172.64. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

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.