Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,430 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $620,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $155.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.82 and its 200 day moving average is $150.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.15.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.