Brooklyn Investment Group Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 171,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,655,000 after acquiring an additional 45,577 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.1% during the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 5,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 8,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 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 $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $155.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.79.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its 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 return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued 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 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.