Garrison Point Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,856 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Garrison Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,856 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $164,896,000 after buying an additional 497,995 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $67,447,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,027,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,335. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $125.42 and a 12-month high of $178.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.51 and a 200-day moving average of $159.84. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% 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.