Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $533,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $1,228,000. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.9% during the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 19,378 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,279,000 after buying an additional 1,745 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,262,000. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,408,000. Finally, Martin Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 194.2% in the second quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. 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 MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,951.21. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,679 shares of company stock worth $6,833,732. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $186.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $182.97 and its 200-day moving average is $178.24. The stock has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.