Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 7,889 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Copeland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,375 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,889 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Quest Diagnostics worth $32,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 144.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,518 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.3% during the third quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 13,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $175.47 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.88. The company has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.62. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $148.70 and a one year 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The business’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors 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 yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.