Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires Shares of 223,370 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 223,370 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $33,698,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.20% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,633 shares of company stock valued at $8,914,433. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of DGX traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,612,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 994,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.66. The company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

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.