Nykredit A S Invests $6 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S initiated a roughly $6 million position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter by purchasing 28,314 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.08; recent targets range from $245 to $260.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.12 in adjusted EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue, while raising its profile with a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share and 1.4% yield.

Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 28,314 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $6,001,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on DGX shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.08.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $244.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.55. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $171.18 and a 1 year high of $248.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 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 Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business'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 value of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% 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. Insiders have sold 34,277 shares of company stock valued at $8,316,493 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated NYSE: DGX is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing used to help diagnose, monitor and manage diseases and other health conditions, serving physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

Its services include routine blood and urine testing, advanced and esoteric diagnostics, molecular and genetic testing, anatomic pathology, cancer testing, drug screening and wellness-related assessments.

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