Waterloo Capital L.P. Acquires 1,528 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,348 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.90. The stock had a trading volume of 708,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The firm has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $168.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.84.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. 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 given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % 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 valued at $9,460,221 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.