Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,401 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $4,470,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $439,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.60. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. Corporate 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.