Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 716,617 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 46,934 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $108,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,250 shares of company stock valued at $9,188,295. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $176.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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

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.