D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Purchases 76,397 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2,570.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,369 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,397 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $11,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $404,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,368 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,300,000 after acquiring an additional 26,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $191,823,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,124 shares of company stock valued at $9,341,875 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE DGX traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $177.95. 85,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 981,723. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $135.47 and a 12 month high of $179.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.66. The company has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 40.46%.

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.