Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,987,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $162.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

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.