Martin Capital Partners LLC Has $917,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Martin Capital Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 194.2% during the second quarter, owning 5,107 shares worth approximately $917,000.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a 15.2% revenue increase year-over-year in its latest earnings report, with an EPS of $2.62, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, representing an annual yield of 1.7%, with the payment scheduled for October 20th.

Martin Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,107 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $728,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,103,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 33,758 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,712,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $268,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.31. The stock had a trading volume of 264,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,108,557. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $146.17 and a 12 month high of $185.62.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders 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 currently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, August 25th. Baird R W cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.