Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 58.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,588 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $9,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $58,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,679 shares of company stock worth $6,833,732 over the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $186.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.24. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $197.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’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. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.