APG Asset Management US Inc. Takes $347,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,300 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 306,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,208. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $168.57 and its 200-day moving average is $160.05. The company has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 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 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is owned by 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.