Swedbank AB Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 19,570 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $13,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after acquiring an additional 9,665 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $109,933,000 after buying an additional 12,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 461,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $71,500,000 after buying an additional 13,938 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The company has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.