Fred Alger Management LLC Makes New $2.66 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $176.96 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The stock has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.73.

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.