Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 534,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 27,101 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $101,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,768,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $184.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $197.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.27.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.