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

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 11,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,530,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $154.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.28. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $159.36. 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 company has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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