Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGXFree Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after buying an additional 70,578 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after acquiring an additional 39,217 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $122,528,000 after acquiring an additional 77,559 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Quest Diagnostics

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,479,890. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The firm has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGXGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGXFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

Receive News & Ratings for Quest Diagnostics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Quest Diagnostics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.