California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 36,881,535 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 22,733.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,043,773 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 36,881,535 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 33.56% of Quest Diagnostics worth $7,851,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank OZK purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $3,247,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,847,000 after buying an additional 110,280 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,965,923,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $235.78 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $247.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.55. The business's 50 day moving average price is $228.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.77.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,130,482.27. This represents a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.31.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.