Garrison Point Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,856 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Garrison Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,856 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $164.08 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.21 and a 200-day moving average of $159.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.