Northern Trust Corp Lowers Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1%, now owning approximately 1.17 million shares valued at $198.27 million.
• Insider selling saw significant activity, with two senior vice presidents selling over 13,800 shares combined in recent transactions.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a 15.2% increase in year-over-year revenue, announcing earnings of $2.62 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,171,804 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 24,625 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.05% of Quest Diagnostics worth $198,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value 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 trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,521 shares of company stock worth $3,913,412. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of DGX traded down $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $180.10. 947,753 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 890,183. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $146.17 and a 12 month high of $185.62. The stock has a market cap of $20.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day moving average is $175.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.56. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics'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. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. 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 is 38.32%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.