Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by Socha Financial Group LLC

Socha Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,985 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics comprises about 0.6% of Socha Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Socha Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $36,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded up $6.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,088,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,877. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $148.62. The stock has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.