Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Position Raised by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 208,177 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 55,995 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics accounts for approximately 1.5% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Quest Diagnostics worth $28,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $479,357,000 after buying an additional 62,114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $318,517,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $243,884,000 after acquiring an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,798,803 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $219,202,000 after acquiring an additional 92,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.16. 741,077 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,038,536. The company has a market cap of $15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $145.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,910 shares of company stock valued at $2,159,602 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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