Keybank National Association OH Purchases 1,945 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,508 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,945 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after acquiring an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.2 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $175.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.09 and a one year high of $178.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.74 and a 200 day moving average of $157.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.