Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, 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 sold 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.44 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.66 and a 52 week high of $172.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.