Optimize Financial Inc Buys Shares of 1,441 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of DGX opened at $163.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.92. The stock has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.33.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.