Assetmark Inc. Buys 239 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DGX. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE DGX opened at $168.12 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 company has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.53 and a 200-day moving average of $157.88. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.09 and a 1-year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. 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. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445 over the last three months. 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.