MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases Shares of 1,909 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 1,909 shares of Quest Diagnostics valued at approximately $323,000 in the first quarter, marking an increase in institutional investment in the company.
• Quest Diagnostics reported an EPS of $2.62 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and experienced a 15.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, set to be paid on October 20th, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,909 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth about $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $182.86. The stock had a trading volume of 454,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,961. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $146.17 and a 1 year high of $185.62. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $175.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.73.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. One 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.