State of Wyoming Has $141,000 Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming sold 1,675 shares of Quest Diagnostics, reducing its stake by 66.8%, leaving them with 834 shares valued at $141,000.
• Institutional investors now hold 88.06% of Quest Diagnostics' stock, with Boston Partners acquiring a new position worth approximately $388.7 million in the first quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, translating to an annualized yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 38.32%.

State of Wyoming trimmed its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 66.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 834 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,675 shares during the period. State of Wyoming's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth about $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,012,534,000 after acquiring an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $75,293,000 after acquiring an additional 443,094 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $33,698,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $2.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $182.75. The stock had a trading volume of 229,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,245. 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 quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.60. The stock has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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