Spirit of America Management Corp NY Decreases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Spirit of America Management Corp NY lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $163.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.18 and a 1 year high of $167.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. This is an increase 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 is presently 39.01%.

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.