Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 17,240 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,897 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,240 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 61,469 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.15.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1 %

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $152.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 576,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,968. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $157.10 and its 200 day moving average is $150.93. The company has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

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.