Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,017 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.3 %

DGX stock opened at $136.64 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $145.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.74.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.67.

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.