Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $166.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

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.