Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 625.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,832 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,407,000 after acquiring an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,555 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,444 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $171.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.39. 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 has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $179.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31% 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.