Global Trust Asset Management LLC Invests $49,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 328 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $151.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.92. The stock has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

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.