Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 485 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,236 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $174.85 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.84 and a 200 day moving average of $163.19. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

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.