74,250 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Bought by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics, purchasing 74,250 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million during the second quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics reported earnings of $2.62 per share for its last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue up 15.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with an annualized basis of $3.20 and a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,250 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $13,338,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $35,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 45.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 91.9% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,969 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $102,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.0%

DGX opened at $179.07 on Friday. 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's 50-day moving average is $179.92 and its 200 day moving average is $175.03. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $191.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.56.

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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Baird R W cut shares of 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, Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.31.

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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