New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 4,310 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,322 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,310 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $13,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 101,788 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,356,000 after acquiring an additional 11,821 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 47,311 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,137,000 after purchasing an additional 17,470 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 44,880 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,850,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DGX. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.69.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.2 %

DGX traded up $1.98 on Wednesday, hitting $171.63. 1,447,998 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,042,004. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $156.89 and its 200-day moving average is $155.57. The company has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.30 and a 12 month high of $172.64.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

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.