Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Position Lifted by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $122,528,000 after purchasing an additional 77,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $170.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

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.