Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 104,495 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Quest Diagnostics worth $81,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,887,000 after purchasing an additional 14,899 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE DGX opened at $171.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.30 and a 52 week high of $172.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.89 and a 200-day moving average of $155.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

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.