CENTRAL TRUST Co Grows Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $163.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.18 and a 1-year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.