California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 709,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,477 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $97,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after purchasing an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after acquiring an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 21,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $137.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. TheStreet cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.25.

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.