Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first 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 during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $180.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.10. The firm has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is currently 37.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,668 shares of company stock worth $9,917,788. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.