Sandy Spring Bank Buys 285 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 142.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 485 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $409,000. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,401 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $4,470,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $439,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.18 and a 200-day moving average of $158.61. 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 cap of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Barclays raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho increased their price target 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, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

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.