APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 16,105 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.2%, now holding approximately 179,834 shares valued at $28.17 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Quest Diagnostics, with ratings predominantly falling between hold and buy, and an average target price of $186.00.
• Quest Diagnostics will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.80 on October 20th, 2023, representing an annualized dividend yield of approximately 1.8%.

APG Asset Management N.V. decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,834 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,105 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.16% of Quest Diagnostics worth $28,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the first 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 period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $2.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.90. The company had a trading volume of 161,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,875. The company has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $175.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.87. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

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.