Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1,080.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,504 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,936 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $170.45 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.