CIBC Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Creative Planning grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,887,000 after buying an additional 14,899 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,904,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $171.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.30 and a twelve month high of $172.64. 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 50-day moving average of $156.89 and a 200 day moving average of $155.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.