Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 371 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,134 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This trade represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,118 shares of company stock worth $7,127,684. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0%

DGX stock opened at $192.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.80. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The firm has a market cap of $21.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.