BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $82.85 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 549,204 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 198,094 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.49% of Quest Diagnostics worth $82,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,407,000 after acquiring an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18.6% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.07.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $177.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.35 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $169.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share 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 shares were 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 approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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