Naples Global Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 2,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 380.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 9,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $169.09 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.30 and a 52-week high of $169.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $155.69 and a 200 day moving average of $154.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.69.

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.