Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 11,351 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 88.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,167 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 11,351 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $1,748,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $176.08 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 12-month low of $148.70 and a 12-month high of $197.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.35 and a 200-day moving average of $179.86. The stock has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 94,461 shares of company stock worth $17,957,361 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.