Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $2.43 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 52.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 940 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $2,665,000. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 33,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,712,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $175.82 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $148.70 and a 1 year high of $197.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.61.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue 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, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock valued at $12,588,676 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.27.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.