Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 661 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 661 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,917,961,000 after purchasing an additional 636,301 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,414,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,093,000 after purchasing an additional 180,889 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $128.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.32 and its 200 day moving average is $130.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.