Swiss National Bank raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 326,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Quest Diagnostics worth $63,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the first quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 2,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics
In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.01%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have recently commented on DGX. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.17.
Quest Diagnostics Profile
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.
Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.
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