Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Grows Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 156,832 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $30,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of DGX opened at $209.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.79.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with 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 an average target price of $216.58.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.