Bar Harbor Wealth Management Invests $2.73 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Bar Harbor Wealth Management has invested approximately $2.73 million in Quest Diagnostics by acquiring 15,179 shares in the second quarter, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Quest Diagnostics reported quarterly earnings of $2.62 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.76 billion and a 15.2% year-over-year growth.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, providing investors with a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Bar Harbor Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,179 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,727,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $388,724,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,177,572 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $199,245,000 after purchasing an additional 84,530 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 10,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the first 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $180.85 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.91 and a fifty-two week high of $191.49. The stock has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.26. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DGX. UBS Group cut their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.63.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,824,765. The trade was a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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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