Level Four Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0%, retaining 33,955 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have mixed recommendations on Quest Diagnostics, with two Strong Buy ratings, eight Buy ratings, and eight Hold ratings, while the consensus price target stands at $186.00.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 38.32%.

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,955 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,156 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 4,962 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,528 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 126,085 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,021,000 after acquiring an additional 54,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 2,493 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $3.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $180.10. 947,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,669. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $146.17 and a 52-week high of $185.62. The company has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $175.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.49.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the 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 transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,521 shares of company stock worth $3,913,412. Corporate 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.