Norges Bank Invests $140.47 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,018,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,472,000. Norges Bank owned 0.91% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after acquiring an additional 75,315 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 21,327 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total transaction of $703,349.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,809,145.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,928 shares of company stock valued at $1,656,062. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $140.04 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $145.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.08 and a 200 day moving average of $132.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.22%.

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.