RD Lewis Holdings Inc. Invests $439,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,701 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 17,620 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 103,975 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,686,000 after acquiring an additional 11,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 10,780 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.96. 1,437,214 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,392. The company has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average is $165.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.38.

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.