Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 314,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Quest Diagnostics worth $47,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $170.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $125.42 and a 12-month high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.56 and its 200-day moving average is $158.18.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.