Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,145 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Quest Diagnostics worth $15,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $67,447,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after buying an additional 104,495 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Eight 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, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of DGX opened at $172.22 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.41. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The stock has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.