Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 4,384 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics, selling 4,384 shares, resulting in ownership of 68,168 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million.
• Quest Diagnostics recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 15.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.76 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.7% with a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,168 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,384 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $12,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $189.19 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $146.17 and a 12 month high of $189.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents 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 hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $5,293,250.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,959 shares of company stock worth $9,604,766. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.

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