United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $887,000 Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,185 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $243.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.20. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $247.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This represents 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. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

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.