Versor Investments LP Buys 3,013 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 68.5%, now owning 7,413 shares valued at approximately $1.25 million.
• Insider trading saw significant sales, with SVP Karthik Kuppusamy selling 2,210 shares and SVP Patrick Plewman selling 5,535 shares in recent transactions.
• Quest Diagnostics recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing a 1.8% yield, with a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Versor Investments LP raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 68.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,413 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $388,724,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,196,429 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $180,493,000 after buying an additional 188,402 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,002,379 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $151,219,000 after purchasing an additional 128,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 765,938 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $127,131,000 after purchasing an additional 17,258 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 4,532 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $829,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,244 shares in the company, valued at $3,155,652. This represents a 20.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,521 shares of company stock worth $3,913,412 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $180.10. 947,753 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,669. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $175.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.44.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The firm's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

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.