Assetmark Inc. Buys 239 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.9 %

DGX opened at $168.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $162.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.88. The firm has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.09 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.