Country Club Bank Decreases Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Country Club Bank cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,087 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Country Club Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd 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. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE DGX opened at $164.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.30 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.93.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

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.