Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Buys 23,832 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 625.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 23,832 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DGX. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,124 shares of company stock worth $9,341,875. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.2%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $176.31 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $180.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.39.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

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.