17,633 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Acquired by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,633 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,660,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,987,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,345,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6%

DGX stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $174.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,169,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,600. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $135.47 and a 52-week high of $179.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,250 shares of company stock valued at $9,188,295 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics 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.