Axa S.A. Acquires 12,406 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Axa S.A. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 564.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,603 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,406 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 50.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,796 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,090 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 135,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,634,000 after buying an additional 7,415 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $1,562,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,481,000 after acquiring an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $155.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $159.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.