Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stake Lifted by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,154 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,705 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $11,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,300,000 after buying an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 175.4% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,223,000. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 10,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 12,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,188 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $168.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.