Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Bought by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 52.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 940 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $180.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $146.17 and a 1-year high of $185.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,496 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,787. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.