Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $6.45 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,799 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $2.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.32. 657,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,023,732. The company has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $148.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.