Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Holdings Lifted by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,863 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,570 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $13,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.58. 631,429 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 914,145. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $120.87 and a fifty-two week high of $159.36. The firm has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

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.