GAMMA Investing LLC Has $287,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $74,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $152.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.75. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $165.32. The firm has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.