Farrow Financial Inc. Has $2.22 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Farrow Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,722 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 1.4% of Farrow Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Farrow Financial Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $67,447,000. 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 during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was 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 valued at $1,634,445 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE DGX opened at $175.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $161.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.60. The company has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.09 and a 1-year high of $178.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released 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%. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.