Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 21,881 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 167,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,881 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $25,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $171.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.39. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.09 and a 1 year high of $178.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

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.