2,793 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Bought by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,793 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 555 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" 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 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.36. 185,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 987,789. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.58. The firm has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,633 shares of company stock worth $8,914,433. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.