Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,579 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,346 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,719,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 34,708 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,388,000 after buying an additional 4,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of DGX stock traded down $0.72 on Friday, reaching $163.75. 1,490,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 962,437. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.62 and a 200-day moving average of $160.26. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $126.08 and a one year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.33.

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.