Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $404,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position 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 valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,987,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 3.8 %

DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’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 transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.57.

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.