Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 7,953 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 21.3%, now holding approximately 29,299 shares, valued at nearly $4.96 million.
• Quest Diagnostics recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.62 per share, beating estimates, with year-over-year revenue growth of 15.2% to $2.76 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, with a yield of 1.8%, to be paid on October 20th, reflecting a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 21.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,299 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,953 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $182.69. The company had a trading volume of 435,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,291. The firm has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 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. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.35 and a 200 day moving average of $173.49.

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 (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

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.