GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.5 %

DGX stock opened at $162.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $155.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.30 and a one year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.