Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $275,895,000 after purchasing an additional 228,271 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,847,000 after buying an additional 110,280 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $4,702,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE DGX opened at $244.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $246.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $27.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.