V Square Quantitative Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Bank of America boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $168.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.07. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year high of $171.30.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.