Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $6.45 Million Position 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 the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,799 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,917,961,000 after acquiring an additional 636,301 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after acquiring an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,414,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,093,000 after acquiring an additional 180,889 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after acquiring an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after acquiring an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded up $2.41 on Friday, hitting $128.32. 657,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,023,732. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.72. The company has a market cap of $14.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

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.