Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Grows Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,324 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 4,962 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 126,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,021,000 after purchasing an additional 54,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 2,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:DGX opened at $184.2330 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.18. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $146.17 and a 12 month high of $184.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,989 shares of company stock valued at $3,084,056. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.