Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,052 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the first 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 period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $55,587,000. Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $30,839,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $29,213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.81.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock worth $9,647,471. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $185.24 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $146.91 and a 1 year high of $191.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.79. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

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.