Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $636,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,525 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 4,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 73.4% during the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.1% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE DGX opened at $134.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.98 and a 200-day moving average of $132.47. The firm has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $158.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.03. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 8.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 17th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 16th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 42.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $142.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $136.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.09.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.