Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,977 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,844 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Quest Diagnostics worth $68,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,287 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $249,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $82,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 44,335 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,631 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,121,000 after purchasing an additional 28,025 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded up $3.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.37. 944,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 848,323. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $160.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average price is $153.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated 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 on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.