Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $91,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $168.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.35 and a 200 day moving average of $155.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.30 and a twelve month high of $171.30.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

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.