Borer Denton & Associates Inc. Buys 287 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $165.49 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $165.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.38.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.