Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. trimmed its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,204 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics worth $17,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 61,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $162.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $167.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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 net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.