Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors acquired 26,825 Quest Diagnostics shares worth approximately $5.7 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 88.06% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $235.31, while shares recently opened at $243.96 near their 52-week high of $246.00.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.12 in EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue, up 10.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, representing a 1.4% yield.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 26,825 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,497,458,000 after buying an additional 140,450 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,965,923,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $934,033,000 after acquiring an additional 158,617 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $467,415,000 after acquiring an additional 406,658 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $243.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $220.20 and a 200-day moving average of $205.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $246.00.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.