Railway Pension Investments Ltd Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,500 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $13,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,965,923,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $410,151,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,522,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,246,000 after buying an additional 811,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $240.96 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $247.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $224.91 and a 200 day moving average of $207.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. This represents a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 32,424 shares of company stock worth $7,518,693 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.