APG Asset Management US Inc. Invests $347,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $163.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.