Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 332,736 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 79,651 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.30% of Quest Diagnostics worth $50,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $165.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.