1832 Asset Management L.P. Sells 3,096 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.9%, selling 3,096 shares and holding 8,836 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes significantly, with Continuum Advisory LLC boosting its position by 11,100% during the quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 3rd, contributing to an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a yield of 1.8%.

1832 Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,836 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,096 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,293,000 after purchasing an additional 443,094 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,698,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of DGX traded up $2.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $181.81. 731,481 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,152,421. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.87. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $185.62. The company has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.