Royal Bank of Canada Buys 60,617 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 323,136 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,617 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $48,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $170.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.96. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $135.47 and a one year high of $179.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,985 shares of company stock worth $9,147,802 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.