First Hawaiian Bank Invests $268,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,581 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,345,000. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $545,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 38,172 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,759,000 after buying an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1%

DGX traded down $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $173.64. 602,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 987,888. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $135.47 and a one year high of $179.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.96. The company has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

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.