Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $40.97 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,488 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.24% of Quest Diagnostics worth $40,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 20.7% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,348 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 124,484 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,326,000 after buying an additional 12,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,940 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 have sold a total of 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $178.09. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.