Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 66,246 Quest Diagnostics shares valued at approximately $14 million, while institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of the company.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.12 in EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue, with revenue up 10.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.31.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equivalent to $3.44 annually and a 1.4% yield; two senior vice presidents also sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 66,246 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $14,041,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,965,923,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $410,151,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $229,522,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $288,246,000 after buying an additional 811,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $243.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $223.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.20. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $247.19.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.31.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.

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