Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14,887.6% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,331,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,615,000 after buying an additional 4,302,510 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 46,022.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,914,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,403 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 380.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $206,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,403 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 62.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,728,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,073,000 after buying an additional 1,046,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $157,412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $134.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $158.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.03. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 8.21%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 16th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 42.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $136.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $142.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.09.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.