8 Knots Management LLC Makes New $20.91 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• 8 Knots Management LLC acquired 123,555 shares of Quest Diagnostics, valued at approximately $20.9 million, making it the firm's 13th largest investment position.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 38.32%.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.62 EPS, up 15.2% year-over-year, with revenue of $2.76 billion against an expectation of $2.73 billion.

8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 123,555 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $20,906,000. Quest Diagnostics makes up about 2.6% of 8 Knots Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. 8 Knots Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,293,000 after purchasing an additional 443,094 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,698,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.44. 556,218 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 754,767. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.