Miller Investment Management LP Has $1.14 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Miller Investment Management LP lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,586 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,567 shares during the period. Miller Investment Management LP's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.75. 1,490,919 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 962,437. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $126.08 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The company's 50 day moving average price is $168.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.26.

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 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.