Greenleaf Trust Grows Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,195 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $136.74 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $148.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.