Royal Bank of Canada Has $83.86 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its investment in Quest Diagnostics by 53.4%, acquiring an additional 172,518 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 495,654 shares valued at about $83.86 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a 15.2% increase in year-over-year revenue, achieving $2.76 billion for the quarter, along with an EPS of $2.62, surpassing estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, providing a 1.8% yield, with the payment scheduled for October 20th.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 53.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 495,654 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 172,518 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.44% of Quest Diagnostics worth $83,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,673 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $376,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,452 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of DGX traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.44. 556,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,767. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $175.29 and a 200-day moving average of $173.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current 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 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 presently 38.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.