Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,975 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 11,145 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Quest Diagnostics worth $15,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,447,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $81,994,000 after buying an additional 104,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $166.96. 1,437,214 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average is $158.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.