9,488 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Bought by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,488 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,431,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 142.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,598 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,017,000 after purchasing an additional 6,230 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $22,049,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,823 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,026,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,970,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DGX stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $151.31. 760,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,221. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $156.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.76.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during 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%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently 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.