Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA Sells 90 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,757 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for 1.3% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after buying an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,049,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $151.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32. The firm has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

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.