Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 862 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 232.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $163.75 on Friday. 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 one year low of $126.08 and a one year high of $178.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.33.

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.