Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 8,362 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,274 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,362 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $233.21 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $207.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $166.76 and a 12-month high of $240.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. The business's revenue 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, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 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 dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.31.

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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