Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,125 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,075,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during 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 in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $171.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,969. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.30 and a fifty-two week high of $172.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $156.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.69.

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.