Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 151,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,900 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up about 1.6% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.14% of Quest Diagnostics worth $28,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.27.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:DGX opened at $192.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $157.20 and a 1-year high of $197.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.11.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.