D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires New Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,118 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,908 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $175.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $148.70 and a 52-week high of $197.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.33. The company has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,214.40. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 44,189 shares of company stock worth $8,157,857 over the last ninety days. 8.16% 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.