Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Invests $22.05 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 161,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,049,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.14% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $140,472,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $152.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $150.61 and a 200 day moving average of $140.88. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $159.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

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.