New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 40,700 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,682 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 40,700 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Quest Diagnostics worth $10,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,140,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.07.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.79. 1,557,274 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,003,691. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $137.71 and a 1 year high of $182.38. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.