Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Reduces Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,822 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,061 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.05% of Quest Diagnostics worth $8,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 555 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $171.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 746,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,755. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.45.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,985 shares of company stock valued at $9,147,802. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

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.