Jericho Financial LLP Invests $590,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Jericho Financial LLP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

DGX stock opened at $163.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.81. The company has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.18 and a twelve month high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on DGX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

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.