American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. sold 313,011 shares of Quest Diagnostics, reducing its stake by 20.5%, now holding approximately 1.09% of the company valued at $205 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported $2.62 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 15.2% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.8%.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 20.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,211,911 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 313,011 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.09% of Quest Diagnostics worth $205,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $29,213,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $340,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,989 shares of company stock valued at $3,084,056. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8%

DGX traded up $1.4240 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.2540. 402,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,163,704. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $184.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $174.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's revenue 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. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.