American Century Companies Inc. Has $230.05 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,524,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 764,962 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $230,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after acquiring an additional 39,217 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $122,528,000 after acquiring an additional 77,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average is $158.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

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.