Boston Trust Walden Corp Buys 11,795 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,725 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,795 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $14,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $191,823,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of DGX stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $179.74. 1,201,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 992,562. The firm has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $135.47 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.35.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.