PGGM Investments Cuts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

PGGM Investments lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,313 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’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 directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $168.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.01. 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 one year low of $125.09 and a one year high of $178.87. The firm has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 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, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.