AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 116,750 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Quest Diagnostics worth $22,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $191,823,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.4 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $177.96 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $135.35 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $169.42 and its 200-day moving average is $162.08. 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 company has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

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.