Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New $2.87 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 13,561 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,874,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,287 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 835 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $244.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $246.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $222.01 and a 200 day moving average of $206.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have 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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