Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 47,994 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $175.49 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $161.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.60. The stock has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.09 and a fifty-two week high of $178.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % 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 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

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.