State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 3,296 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.7%, selling 3,296 shares to hold a total of 34,692 shares valued at approximately $5.87 million.
• In recent earnings, Quest Diagnostics reported $2.62 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a quarterly revenue of $2.76 billion, up 15.2% year-over-year.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for October 3, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,692 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,296 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,293,000 after buying an additional 443,094 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,698,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $3.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $180.10. 947,753 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,669. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $175.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.44. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $185.62. The company has a market cap of $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,521 shares of company stock valued at $3,913,412 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.