Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 15,400 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,100 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 15,400 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 valued at $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $176.00. 1,504,698 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,438. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $169.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.56. The company has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.