Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Holdings Cut by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 owned about 0.15% of Quest Diagnostics worth $23,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 179.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $134.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.09 and a 200-day moving average of $131.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $146.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.