Benjamin Edwards Inc. Invests $678,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,369 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7 %

DGX stock traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 951,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 835,314. The company has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The business's 50 day moving average price is $156.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.