State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 19,049 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% during the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $154.38 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.21 and a 200-day moving average of $140.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

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.