Cibc World Markets Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,620 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.53. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.