National Pension Service Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 234,891 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,711 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of Quest Diagnostics worth $44,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $1,209,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3,396.8% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,469 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 6,284 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,272,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,589.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 71,190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,567,000 after acquiring an additional 66,975 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $184.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.84. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.27.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.