Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,316 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE DGX opened at $181.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.53 and a fifty-two week high of $191.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $180.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 19,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock worth $9,647,471. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.