Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Bought by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8%, acquiring an additional 9,200 shares and bringing its total holdings to 34,220 shares worth approximately $5.79 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.62, beating estimates, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.2%, totaling $2.76 billion for the quarter.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, which will be paid on October 20th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 36.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,220 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $388,724,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,412 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,495.2% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 335 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 227,378 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,472,000 after buying an additional 8,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,989 shares of company stock valued at $3,084,056. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX traded up $0.5290 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $184.9290. The company's stock had a trading volume of 313,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,161,904. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $146.17 and a 1-year high of $185.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

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.