LSV Asset Management Sells 605,652 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

LSV Asset Management reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 61.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 374,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 605,652 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.33% of Quest Diagnostics worth $51,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.9% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 2,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.4% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 59,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $137.38. 640,502 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,704. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.77. 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 one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $145.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,910 shares of company stock worth $2,159,602 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.