Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,271,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,823,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $67,447,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after buying an additional 104,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $167.28 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.