Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,710 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,881 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.15% of Quest Diagnostics worth $25,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of DGX stock traded up $3.82 on Friday, reaching $175.49. 1,092,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,727. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.09 and a 52 week high of $178.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.56.

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Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.