1,271,528 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,271,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,823,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.14% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after purchasing an additional 3,983 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 news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $167.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.09.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

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.