Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 2,504 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC has acquired 2,504 shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), totaling roughly $450,000 during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Quest Diagnostics, with 68.06% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,504 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after acquiring an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $388,724,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,177,572 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $199,245,000 after buying an additional 84,530 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,013,030 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $171,405,000 after buying an additional 10,651 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 961,154 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $162,628,000 after acquiring an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $185.41 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $178.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $187.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,959 shares of company stock valued at $9,604,766. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.

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