Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,228,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.9% in the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 19,378 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after buying an additional 1,745 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $1,408,000. Finally, Martin Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Baird R W lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,654 shares of company stock worth $7,189,232 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $179.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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 research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 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.