Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 3,840 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 59,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $9,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,940,814.58. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,589 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $178.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.92. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $135.47 and a fifty-two week high of $179.99. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

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.