Unified Investment Management Takes $554,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,670 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % 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 Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $171.71. The company had a trading volume of 944,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,435. The business's fifty day moving average is $160.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.29. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.09 and a fifty-two week high of $178.09. The firm has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.23.

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.