Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $12.29 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. significantly reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 62.6% during the first quarter, ending with 72,624 shares worth approximately $12.3 million.
• Several institutional investors modified their stakes in Quest Diagnostics, with First Horizon Advisors Inc. increasing its holdings by 76.6%.
• Quest Diagnostics recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, which represents an annual yield of 1.7% and will be paid on October 20th.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 62.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,624 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 121,806 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $12,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Baird R W lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $2.94 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $183.08. The stock had a trading volume of 297,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,459. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $175.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.60. The firm has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787 over the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.