Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Takes $946,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC has made a new investment in Quest Diagnostics, acquiring 5,590 shares valued at approximately $946,000 during the first quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics reported $2.62 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate and showing a 15.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share to be paid on October 20th, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,590 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $946,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 38,857 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $878,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 320.8% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 10,519 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 8,019 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 852 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 314,857 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $53,274,000 after purchasing an additional 43,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.5%

DGX traded up $2.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.81. 731,481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,291. The company has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $146.17 and a 1-year 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $175.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Baird R W downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

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.