Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $67,447,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after acquiring an additional 104,495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.96 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $165.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. 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 payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

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.