Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 1,569 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 84,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,175,000 after acquiring an additional 19,570 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,735 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,014,000 after buying an additional 8,094 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 126,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,589,000 after buying an additional 14,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $163.32 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

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.