Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Position Boosted by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 25.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $116,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE DGX opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.79.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.