Aquila Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Aquila Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,000 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.18.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of DGX stock traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.53. 720,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,920. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $128.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.65. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $148.62. The company has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.92%.

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.