Pensionfund Sabic Grows Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $22,049,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,758,000 after purchasing an additional 129,395 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $152.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.75. The stock has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DGX. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % 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 corporate insiders.

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.