State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 6,155 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,726 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,155 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 250.2% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% during the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 22,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE DGX opened at $166.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.51 and its 200-day moving average is $154.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.30 and a one year high of $168.17. The firm has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.