Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA Lowers Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,757 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for approximately 1.3% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,049,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2 %

DGX opened at $151.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The stock has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DGX. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

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.