Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $175.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.09 and a 52-week high of $178.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $161.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

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.