Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 11,000 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 32.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,220 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 50.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,844 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 394,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,778,000 after acquiring an additional 47,382 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,158 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 23,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,212,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 44,189 shares of company stock worth $8,157,857 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $174.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.75 and a 200 day moving average of $177.28. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.70 and a 12 month high of $197.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.