BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Raises Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 82.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,991 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $440,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 12,539 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 762 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.8%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $190.82 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.37. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The stock has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This trade represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.50.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.