California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 503,209 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,086 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.45% of Quest Diagnostics worth $75,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during 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 during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded down $6.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.08. 2,505,194 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 924,270. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average is $168.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

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.