Savant Capital LLC Has $1.80 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 380.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 9,467 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the 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 directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % 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 Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $169.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.70. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.30 and a 52-week high of $169.27. 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) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partners raised 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 report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

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.