Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,991 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $190.82 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.37. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $197.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.