Willis Investment Counsel Has $18.65 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Willis Investment Counsel decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 16,200 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics worth $18,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $148.67 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $120.10 and a one year high of $159.36. The company has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $152.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.92.

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.