Caxton Associates LP Takes $376,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,490 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,780,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,673 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $342,000. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4,796.0% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 86,022 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,977,000 after purchasing an additional 84,265 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $176.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.68 and a 200-day moving average of $162.56. 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 1 year low of $135.47 and a 1 year high of $179.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

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.

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