Appleton Partners Inc. MA Boosts Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Appleton Partners Inc. MA significantly increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics, boosting its holdings by 137.7% during the second quarter, bringing the total value of its position to approximately $3.44 million.
• Several institutional investors are actively adjusting their shares in Quest Diagnostics, with Price T Rowe Associates increasing its ownership by 9.0% during the first quarter, now holding nearly 6 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Quest Diagnostics, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price around $186.31, reflecting cautious optimism among analysts regarding the company's future performance.

Appleton Partners Inc. MA boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 137.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,146 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,092 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth $388,724,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,177,572 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $199,245,000 after acquiring an additional 84,530 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,013,030 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $171,405,000 after acquiring an additional 10,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 961,154 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $162,628,000 after purchasing an additional 6,079 shares during the period. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock worth $9,647,471. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $179.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's fifty day moving average is $179.92 and its 200 day moving average is $175.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $146.17 and a 52-week high of $191.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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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