Sei Investments Co. Decreases Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sei Investments Co. cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 20,255 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.14% of Quest Diagnostics worth $23,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,838,000 after acquiring an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $122,528,000 after acquiring an additional 77,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.87. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho boosted 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.