Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,345 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,447,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after acquiring an additional 104,495 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3 %

DGX stock opened at $166.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $165.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.