Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 327,575 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $69,430,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $5,435,000. Glaxis Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $1,166,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $765,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. 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. Insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
Shares of DGX opened at $241.80 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $245.68. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $218.52 and a 200-day moving average of $204.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. The firm'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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.31.
Read Our Latest Analysis on DGX
About Quest Diagnostics
(
Free Report)
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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