Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $238,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,438 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, 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 Trading Down 0.0 %

DGX opened at $163.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price 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, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.33.

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.