Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $14.39 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 95,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,392,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 44,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,660,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 16,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,596,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $159.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.66 and a one year high of $176.44. The company has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.