Red Door Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $151.89 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. 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 market cap of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $155.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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

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.