Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $45.44 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 301,229 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 7,938 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $45,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,479,890. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of DGX opened at $167.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.