Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $3.36 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 84.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,852 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 108,588 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $180.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.77 and a 200-day moving average of $165.69. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $181.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

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.