Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,810 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 380.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 9,467 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $180.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,028,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,700. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.67. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $135.47 and a one year high of $181.91. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

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.