Tredje AP fonden Sells 8,746 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Tredje AP fonden reduced its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,746 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 97.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 4,164 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of DGX opened at $170.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.56 and its 200-day moving average is $158.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.