Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 746,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,721 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Quest Diagnostics worth $134,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings 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 valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,118 shares of company stock valued at $7,127,684. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE DGX opened at $189.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.70 and a 12 month high of $197.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.17 and a 200-day moving average of $178.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

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.