First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $997,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after acquiring an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold 16,910 shares of company stock worth $2,159,602 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $137.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $145.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.