Kennebec Savings Bank Buys Shares of 3,823 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,823 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,481,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 892.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,177 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,819,000 after acquiring an additional 19,044 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $1.96 during trading on Monday, hitting $161.33. 213,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 913,397. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $162.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

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.