OneAscent Financial Services LLC Invests $238,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,577 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:DGX traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $162.57. 499,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 939,169. The company's 50 day moving average is $168.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.77. The company has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

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.