Twin Tree Management LP Takes $1.90 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Twin Tree Management LP has acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics, purchasing 10,551 shares valued at approximately $1.90 million.
• Quest Diagnostics has received positive feedback from analysts, with price targets ranging from $190.00 to $195.00 and an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported earnings of $2.62 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, reflecting a yield of 1.7%.

Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,551 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,895,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during 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 period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $55,587,000. Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $30,839,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $29,213,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, August 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.81.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $186.61 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $146.91 and a 12-month high of $191.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The business'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. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was 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 owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,824,765. The trade was a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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