Fred Alger Management LLC Increases Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 9.9%, owning 19,378 shares worth approximately $3.28 million as of the latest SEC disclosure.
• Quest Diagnostics reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.62, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 15.2% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $2.76 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, set to be paid out on October 20.

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,378 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,559 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,135,000. Sandler Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,383,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 14,229 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,408,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $181.18. 93,571 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,118,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50 day moving average is $175.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. 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.