1,648 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Purchased by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,648 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $404,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth 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 period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $191,823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $178.18. The stock had a trading volume of 994,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 984,021. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $135.47 and a 1 year high of $182.20. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,124 shares of company stock worth $9,341,875. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.