Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,757 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after acquiring an additional 104,495 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.66 and a twelve month high of $176.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on DGX shares. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

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.