Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.41% of Quest Diagnostics worth $404,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $191,823,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $164,896,000 after buying an additional 497,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report 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. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $161.39. 391,785 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,752. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $168.48 and a 200 day moving average of $159.77. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.