Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New $3.51 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,571 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $236.71 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $240.13. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $217.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.