Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by Golden State Equity Partners

Golden State Equity Partners increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 84.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,736 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after acquiring an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $162.51 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.18 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.70. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 EPS 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.77.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.