Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $165.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.30 and a 52 week high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.