Legal & General Group Plc Has $112.36 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 744,774 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 193,894 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.67% of Quest Diagnostics worth $112,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DGX traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.10. The stock had a trading volume of 252,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,752. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last three months. Corporate 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.