Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,220 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,079 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,495.2% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $189.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,170,951.21. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,118 shares of company stock worth $7,127,684. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.