AGP Franklin LLC Takes $858,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,690 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $858,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $404,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $191,823,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,137,114 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $171,545,000 after purchasing an additional 23,425 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.75. 1,490,919 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 962,437. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $126.08 and a one year 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.26. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.