Borer Denton & Associates Inc. Raises Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $356,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,507,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 44,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,706,000 after buying an additional 2,697 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1 %

DGX stock opened at $165.49 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.70 and its 200-day moving average is $158.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. This is an increase 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 currently 41.61%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.