Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Acquires Shares of 11,180 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,530,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during 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 buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $46,342,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $154.00 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $159.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.28.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

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.