Investment Management Corp of Ontario Has $465,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,300,000 after buying an additional 26,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $175.93 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.78 and a 200-day moving average of $163.11. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) 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. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,250 shares of company stock valued at $9,188,295. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.