Kentucky Trust Co Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners raised 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

DGX opened at $166.82 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.30 and a 52 week high of $168.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $155.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.49. The firm has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.