7,744 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,744 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,407 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,768,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 13,188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,252 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 88,809 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,953,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $692,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,340 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $180.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $146.17 and a 52-week high of $191.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $179.71 and its 200-day moving average is $174.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DGX. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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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