Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 48,834 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,628 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 48,834 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $287,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,696 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $233.25.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $235.26 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $204.96 and its 200 day moving average is $198.52. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $166.75 and a 52 week 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 $25.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents 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. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.