Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,208 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial set a $195.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.06.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $189.71 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.91 and a fifty-two week high of $191.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. This represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. 8.16% of the stock is owned by 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.