Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.28 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 97.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,164 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.22 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.35 and a 200-day moving average of $158.41. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. Corporate 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.