79,013 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 79,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,747,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $236.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $247.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.55. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued 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 presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. This trade 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 this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This trade represents 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,277 shares of company stock valued at $8,316,493. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.