Ledyard National Bank Invests $258,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Ledyard National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,414,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,093,000 after purchasing an additional 180,889 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,798,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $219,202,000 after purchasing an additional 92,542 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.45 on Tuesday, reaching $139.05. The stock had a trading volume of 307,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,580. The stock has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $145.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.22%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. TheStreet cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics 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.