68,561 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by Danske Bank A S

Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 68,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,532,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $241.80 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $245.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $218.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.87. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 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, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.31.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.