SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 19,597 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,622 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 19,597 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. The trade was 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 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.27.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $174.59 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $148.70 and a 1-year high of $197.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.64.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. 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%.

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.