24,730 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,713,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $238,122,000. M&G PLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 256.5% during the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,072,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,090,000 after acquiring an additional 771,824 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,039,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,318,000 after purchasing an additional 744,102 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,932,000 after purchasing an additional 433,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,337,000 after purchasing an additional 426,399 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $182.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $197.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.84 and its 200-day moving average is $180.03.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 37.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,410,745.50. This trade represents a 51.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.27.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.