Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 25,903 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in Q1, holding approximately 1.58% of the company valued at $297.5 million.
• Other institutional investors have also increased their positions significantly, with 88.06% of the stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with the dividend payment scheduled for October 20th.

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,758,265 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 25,903 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.58% of Quest Diagnostics worth $297,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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 4,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $829,356.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,155,652. The trade was a 20.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,521 shares of company stock worth $3,913,412. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $3.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $180.10. 947,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,669. The firm has a market cap of $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.49. 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 released 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 firm 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 company earned $2.35 EPS. The company's 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

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.