AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Buys Shares of 6,361 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired 6,361 shares of Quest Diagnostics, valued at approximately $1,103,000, in Q1 as part of its new position.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their stakes in Quest Diagnostics, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. raising its ownership by 9% to hold nearly 6 million shares worth over $1 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.7%, payable on October 20th.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,361 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 33,758 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,712,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $268,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.9% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $2,665,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 251,255 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $42,512,000 after purchasing an additional 6,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Baird R W downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE DGX traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.43. The stock had a trading volume of 184,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,108,152. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.94. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $146.17 and a 1 year high of $185.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.