Burney Co. Sells 1,185 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Burney Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $178.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $182.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $148.70 and a one year high of $197.55. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were given 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 was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 38,654 shares of company stock worth $7,189,232 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Baird R W cut Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.31.

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.