Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stake Lessened by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,801 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $160.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.73. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $162.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

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.