Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Position Lessened by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,235 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $154.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

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.