TKG Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 6,484 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

TKG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,484 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 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 worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $178.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $148.70 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $182.47 and its 200-day moving average is $177.69.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 4,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,155,652. The trade was a 20.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. This represents a 42.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 38,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,232 in the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.