1,532 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $182.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $146.17 and a 1 year high of $191.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given 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 a consensus price target of $186.00.

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.