Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 234 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,276 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during 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 during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $171.79 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $124.25 and a one year high of $178.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.91 and a 200 day moving average of $157.29. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s 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.