Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 1,608 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,608 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 371.6% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,950 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 11,780 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $985,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Finally, Aquila Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. SVB Leerink began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $125.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.28 and a 200 day moving average of $130.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.