Woodline Partners LP Has $64.41 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 24.6%, selling 123,896 shares and retaining ownership of approximately 380,700 shares valued at $64.4 million.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a 15.2% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest earnings, with an EPS of $2.62, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.57.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with a payment date of October 20th, reflecting a yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Woodline Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 24.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 380,700 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 123,896 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.34% of Quest Diagnostics worth $64,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction 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 $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787 in the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $182.86. The stock had a trading volume of 454,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,769. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50 day moving average is $175.67 and its 200-day moving average is $173.72.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio 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.