Ethic Inc. Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 39.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,052 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,829 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after buying an additional 17,240 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,651,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,717 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $175.93 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $135.47 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $169.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.11.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.