Signaturefd LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.60. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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%. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued 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 1.92%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.