Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases New Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,290 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,669,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 12,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 137,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $24,614,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% during the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,180,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $81,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One 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, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. The trade was a 11.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 38,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,232 in the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $179.31 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $148.70 and a 52-week high of $197.55. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.88. The firm has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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