Thomasville National Bank Sells 150 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Thomasville National Bank trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $138.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $145.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.80 and a 200-day moving average of $133.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.67.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.