Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its stake 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DGX. Bank of America increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $169.39 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.00 and a 200-day moving average of $159.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.