MSH Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 7,856 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,856 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,185,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,490,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,437. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day moving average price is $168.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $126.08 and a 12 month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % 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 valued at $9,460,221. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.