Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 6,767 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 25.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,797 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,767 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,508 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,277 shares of company stock valued at $8,316,493. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $234.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $229.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.38. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $247.19.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.31.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing used to help diagnose, monitor and manage diseases and other health conditions, serving physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

Its services include routine blood and urine testing, advanced and esoteric diagnostics, molecular and genetic testing, anatomic pathology, cancer testing, drug screening and wellness-related assessments.