Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,049 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $83,070,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after buying an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $46,342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $137.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $145.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $137.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.65.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.