Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 11.0%, owning 17,955 shares worth approximately $3,038,000 after selling 2,208 shares during the first quarter.
• In contrast, other investors like Vident Advisory LLC and Trexquant Investment LP have increased their holdings in Quest Diagnostics, with Trexquant raising its position by 88.0% during the same period.
• Quest Diagnostics has reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, exceeding estimates, with revenues reaching $2.76 billion and a 15.2% increase year-over-year.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,955 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,208 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $3.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.66. The company had a trading volume of 598,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,819. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $175.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.67. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The company 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%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

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.