New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 10,816 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 169,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,816 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $23,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $134.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $146.85.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.22%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% 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.