Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth has increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 147.0%, acquiring an additional 33,096 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 55,607 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.76 billion, marking a 15.2% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a yield of 1.7%.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 147.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,607 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 33,096 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $9,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,293,000 after purchasing an additional 443,094 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,698,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on DGX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.63. The stock had a trading volume of 667,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 654,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $185.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

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.