Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Position Lessened by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 63.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,621 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 13,190 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $191,823,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.8%

DGX stock traded down $3.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.15. 345,510 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,344. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $136.35 and a 52-week high of $182.38. The company has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $176.26 and its 200-day moving average is $167.35.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DGX. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target 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. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.16% 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.