Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $166.96 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. 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 $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % 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, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.