Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 25.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 747,298 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.67% of Quest Diagnostics worth $116,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 178,191 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $23,719,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 218.2% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,718 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 7,350 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 108.8% in the first quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 7,016 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the 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 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 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $155.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.79. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $165.32. The firm has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.

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