Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 980.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,982 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,887,000 after acquiring an additional 14,899 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $171.63 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.30 and a 1 year high of $172.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current 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 represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value 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. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

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.