Maridea Wealth Management LLC Buys New Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,099 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $167.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.64 and a 200-day moving average of $159.01. The company has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average 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.