10,247 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Bought by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,247 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,172,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,965,923,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $934,033,000 after buying an additional 158,617 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $467,415,000 after buying an additional 406,658 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $244.34 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $245.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $219.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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