Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $6.88 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,335 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $3.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $159.37. The stock had a trading volume of 943,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $153.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.40. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $160.95. The firm has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is 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.