USA Financial Formulas Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• USA Financial Formulas has acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, purchasing 3,855 shares valued at approximately $692,000 during Q2.
• Institutional investors own 88.06% of Quest Diagnostics' stock, with multiple firms reporting significant increases in their holdings over the past quarters.
• Quest Diagnostics recently announced a dividend of $0.80 per share, representing a 1.8% dividend yield, with the payment scheduled for October 20th.

USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,855 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Baird R W lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock worth $9,647,471 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $182.04 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $179.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.89. The company has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $146.17 and a 52-week high of $191.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date 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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