Hilton Capital Management LLC Invests $8.84 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Hilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 56,953 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $8,842,000. Hilton Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,966,000 after acquiring an additional 20,800 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 326.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,882 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 12,154 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.32. The stock had a trading volume of 763,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 922,530. The company has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $162.88. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $154.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

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.