PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $6.30 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,049 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,077 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 67,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 9,269 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $140.04 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $134.08 and a two-hundred 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 company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.17.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,809,145.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,809,145.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,928 shares of company stock worth $1,656,062. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.