1,506 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Bought by Kentucky Trust Co

Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,506 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at about $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $168.97. 1,327,130 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,053,881. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year high of $171.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $155.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.80.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

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.