Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 709,465 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,477 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.63% of Quest Diagnostics worth $97,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $243,884,000 after buying an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $318,517,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2,400.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 336,521 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,008,000 after buying an additional 323,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,869,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded down $2.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $135.47. 1,016,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,713. The company has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $128.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.11. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $147.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is 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.