Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,369 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 24,960 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.10% of Quest Diagnostics worth $16,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.20. 804,068 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 918,315. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $160.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.58.

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.