KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 3,800 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,303 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $379,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 44,329 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,687,000 after purchasing an additional 13,600 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Nine 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of DGX stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $168.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 235,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,464. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.83. The stock has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $140.71 and a 52-week high of $182.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

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.