Sierra Ocean LLC Buys New Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 221 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,982 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,887,000 after purchasing an additional 14,899 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $169.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.30 and a 12-month high of $171.30.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. 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. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

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.