Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys 43,299 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 314,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,299 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $53,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $388,724,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,196,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $180,493,000 after buying an additional 188,402 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,002,379 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $151,219,000 after buying an additional 128,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 961,154 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,628,000 after buying an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $180.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.44. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $146.17 and a one year high of $185.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,521 shares of company stock worth $3,913,412 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

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.