DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 778,746 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,891 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.69% of Quest Diagnostics worth $106,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $130.63. The company had a trading volume of 691,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,243. The firm has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $127.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.43. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 37.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. SVB Leerink started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.18.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,809,145.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.