Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,496 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 810 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,998,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,619 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth about $8,526,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $210.87 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $165.30 and a 52-week high of $219.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.01%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.17.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.