Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $3.36 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 84.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,852 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 108,588 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 44,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,850,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 47,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,137,000 after purchasing an additional 17,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 101,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,356,000 after acquiring an additional 11,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:DGX opened at $180.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $135.47 and a 52-week high of $181.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.69.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.46%.

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.