Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,484 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,083 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics worth $19,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target 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. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $1.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $156.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 228,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,120. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $160.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

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.