15,753 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio recently acquired a stake in Quest Diagnostics by purchasing 15,753 shares, valued at approximately $2.67 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a 15.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.62 for the last quarter, beating estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 3rd.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,753 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,665,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given 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 $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2%

DGX traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,435,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,800. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $176.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.00.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given 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 38.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% 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.