Lbp Am Sa Buys 14,996 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Lbp Am Sa raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 200.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,996 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $1,179,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 26,044 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 138,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,840,000 after buying an additional 73,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 4,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $170.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.