Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Has $2.26 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 43.9%, ending the first quarter with 13,361 shares valued at approximately $2.26 million.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings of $2.62 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and highlighting a 15.2% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 1.7%, scheduled for payment on October 20th.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,361 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,461 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $3.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $180.10. 947,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,669. The stock has a market cap of $20.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $175.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $146.17 and a 12 month high of $185.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The company'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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 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.