Arkadios Wealth Advisors Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Arkadios Wealth Advisors reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 16,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 45,220 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,123,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $175.93 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the business’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 sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,189 shares of company stock valued at $8,157,857. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group 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 Friday, October 17th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average 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.