State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 2,396 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,396 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tredje AP fonden grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 30,101 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,407,000 after purchasing an additional 7,761 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,502 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,275,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 7,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of DGX opened at $178.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $148.70 and a 1-year high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,232. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

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.