Old North State Trust LLC Takes $441,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $244.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $223.00 and its 200-day moving average is $206.84. The company has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $247.19.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were 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 $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.31.

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.