Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $7.14 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 58.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,311 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,470 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 61,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target 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, Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $171.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,446,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,001. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.31. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year high of $172.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

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.