Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,776 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,156 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $2,908,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 12,038.5% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Baird R W lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,833,732 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $186.97 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.97 and a 200 day moving average of $178.24. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $148.70 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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