Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 95,252 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 520,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 95,252 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.47% of Quest Diagnostics worth $78,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.44 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.66 and a fifty-two week high of $172.91. The stock has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. 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 yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.