Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 51.8% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 22,719 shares for a total of 66,594 shares valued at approximately $11.96 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Boston Partners, have also expanded their positions in Quest Diagnostics, with ownership by institutional investors now at 88.06%.
• Quest Diagnostics recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield, with a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 51.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,594 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 22,719 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $11,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $388,724,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,177,572 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $199,245,000 after purchasing an additional 84,530 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 10,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $181.35 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.91 and a 52 week high of $191.49. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $180.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.36. The firm has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The company'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. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Baird R W cut Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.63.

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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