Brighton Jones LLC Invests $323,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $109,933,000 after acquiring an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % 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. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $159.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $155.66 and its 200 day moving average is $153.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.