Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 110%, acquiring an additional 3,735 shares for a total of 7,130 shares valued at $1.21 million.
• Many institutional investors, including Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC and Continuum Advisory LLC, have significantly raised their positions in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a yield of 1.8%.

Allstate Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 110.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,130 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,735 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX traded up $2.64 on Friday, hitting $181.84. The stock had a trading volume of 132,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,731. 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. The stock has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50-day moving average is $175.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. 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, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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