Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $205,000. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $170.20 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $125.42 and a 12-month high of $178.87. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.18.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’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 owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

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.