Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Purchases 413 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 170.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 655 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $87,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after acquiring an additional 75,315 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 135,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,634,000 after purchasing an additional 7,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $138.96 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $145.62. The stock has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $138.00 and a 200 day moving average of $133.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.