Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,020 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after buying an additional 2,852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Insider Activity

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

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $175.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.66 and a fifty-two week high of $176.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.