Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Buys Shares of 11,180 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,180 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,342,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of DGX traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $153.08. 787,946 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 942,479. The firm has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $150.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.