QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $4.38 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,351 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $215.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $164.65 and a 1 year high of $217.41.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

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.