Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 108,224 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 535.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,440 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Quest Diagnostics worth $19,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 142.0% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,598 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,017,000 after buying an additional 6,230 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,049,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $786,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,823 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,026,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.31. The company had a trading volume of 760,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,221. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.15.

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.