Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $23.41 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,169 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics comprises approximately 1.3% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Quest Diagnostics worth $23,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $166.13 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

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.