Oak Thistle LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Oak Thistle LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 248.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,932 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,653 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th 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. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Seven equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.47. 815,404 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 716,729. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $156.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% 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.