Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Acquired by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average is $158.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.