Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,600 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.2 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $169.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.20. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. 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 1.89%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

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.