Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 913 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,447,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after buying an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.96 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.64. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released 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%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped 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. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

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.