Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 6,771 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8%, acquiring an additional 6,771 shares, bringing their total ownership to 251,255 shares valued at approximately $42.5 million.
• Quest Diagnostics is currently rated as a Moderate Buy by analysts, with a consensus price target of $186.00, reflecting positive growth expectations for the company.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, set to be paid on October 20th, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,255 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,771 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.23% of Quest Diagnostics worth $42,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in 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 grew its position in 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 position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut 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 given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.3%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $180.31 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $175.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62. The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

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.

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