3,163 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Purchased by First American Bank

Key Points

• First American Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics, purchasing 3,163 shares valued at approximately $568,000 during the second quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a strong quarterly earnings with $2.62 EPS, surpassing estimates, and indicated a positive revenue growth of 15.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 3rd.

First American Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,163 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,047,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,439,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,959 shares of company stock worth $9,604,766. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $189.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $189.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $178.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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