B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,079,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 326.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 12,154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $163.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.29. The company has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.10.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

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.