Avanza Fonder AB Invests $1.43 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 142.0% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,017,000 after buying an additional 6,230 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $22,049,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,026,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $151.31 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

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.