New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,632 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,219 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Quest Diagnostics worth $14,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,094,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,459. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $160.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $153.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.88. 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 market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 is presently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.