VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 123,876 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 123,876 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,252,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $189.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.91 and a 52 week high of $191.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $182.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company’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 anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Baird R W cut Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.06.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.