Quadrant Capital Group LLC Raises Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 667 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $191,823,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,896,000 after buying an additional 497,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1 %

DGX stock opened at $163.82 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.51 and its 200 day moving average is $159.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current 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 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.