Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 268,354 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 268,354 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $56,878,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.24% of Quest Diagnostics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.3%

DGX opened at $241.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $242.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $217.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

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