BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 181,874 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 33.1%, owning approximately 367,330 shares valued at $62.15 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their holdings in Quest Diagnostics, with Bruce G. Allen Investments increasing its stake by 57.8% during the same period.
• Quest Diagnostics recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 33.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 367,330 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 181,874 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.33% of Quest Diagnostics worth $62,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 18,435 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,781,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4,796.0% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 86,022 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,977,000 after acquiring an additional 84,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.83. 241,669 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,143,878. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $185.62. 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 company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.23.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued 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 payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

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.