Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 26,214 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for approximately 1.1% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 2.03% of Quest Diagnostics worth $342,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % 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, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded up $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $164.28. The company had a trading volume of 783,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,239. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.77.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.33.

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.