Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Holdings Lowered by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 40.9%, holding 5,944 shares valued at $1,006,000 after selling 4,108 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership is significant, with hedge funds owning 88.06% of Quest Diagnostics stock, as several firms like Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC and Continuum Advisory LLC increased their holdings.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding 1.8% and reflecting a payout ratio of 38.32% as of October 3rd.

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 40.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,944 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,108 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,293,000 after buying an additional 443,094 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,698,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 4,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $829,356.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $180.10. The stock had a trading volume of 947,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,669. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $185.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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