Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Acquires New Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,115 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,508,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $654,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $245,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $10,006,000. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $5,822,000. Finally, Focused Alpha LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $635,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5%

DGX stock opened at $236.71 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $240.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $217.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.06.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

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