MGO One Seven LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.2 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $173.75 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $134.50 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.