OneAscent Financial Services LLC Invests $238,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,577 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at approximately $678,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 28,444 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,419,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 3,685 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. 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 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given 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 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.