Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 41,195 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $6,223,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 28,444 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,419,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 36.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,265 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 151.8% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,971 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 163.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 81,884 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,712,000 after purchasing an additional 50,780 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,218,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 952,616. The business's fifty day moving average is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.96. The stock has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.