XTX Topco Ltd Purchases Shares of 7,779 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has made a new investment of approximately $1.32 million in Quest Diagnostics, acquiring 7,779 shares of the company during the first quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.62 for the last quarter, which surpassed the consensus estimate by $0.05, along with a revenue of $2.76 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%; this dividend was paid on July 21st.

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,779 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,316,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% 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 Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of DGX stock traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.81. 1,421,070 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,363,318. The stock's 50 day moving average is $174.01 and its 200-day moving average is $170.14. The company has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $144.87 and a fifty-two week high of $182.38.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 38.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

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.