Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 254.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 21,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,970,000 after purchasing an additional 15,582 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 53,411 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,311,000 after acquiring an additional 10,125 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 32,674 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after acquiring an additional 17,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $151.89 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.