Bank of America Corp DE Sells 46,934 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 716,617 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 46,934 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.64% of Quest Diagnostics worth $108,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% during 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 438,977 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $68,144,000 after buying an additional 68,844 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,201 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,717 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $176.96 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $179.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.