United Services Automobile Association Takes $426,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics, purchasing 2,545 shares valued at approximately $426,000 in the first quarter.
• Several large investors have increased their holdings in Quest Diagnostics, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. growing its stake by 9.0%, now owning shares worth over $1 billion.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8%, with payments scheduled for October 20th.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,545 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $388,724,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the first 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 grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,002,379 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $151,219,000 after buying an additional 128,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 961,154 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $162,628,000 after buying an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group reduced 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. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $180.31 on Thursday. 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's 50 day moving average is $175.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $185.62. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics'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. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

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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