Zhang Financial LLC Invests $216,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:DGX opened at $178.90 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $135.47 and a one year high of $179.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.53. The stock has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.