YANKCOM Partnership Invests $1.07 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,063 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,066,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.0 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $164.98 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.30 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.93. The firm has a market cap 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.