Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $136.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.03. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.