Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Sells 64 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $172.44 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.93. The stock has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.66 and a 1 year high of $172.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.