Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in Q1, owning approximately 961,154 shares valued at $162.6 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a quarterly EPS of $2.62, surpassing analysts' expectations, and its revenue rose by 15.2% year-over-year, totaling $2.76 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.80 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 1.8%, with the payout scheduled for October 20th.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 961,154 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 6,079 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.86% of Quest Diagnostics worth $162,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE DGX traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 132,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,731. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $146.17 and a 52-week high of $185.62. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $175.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given 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 (DPR) is 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DGX. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

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.