Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,014 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,012,534,000 after buying an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $55,587,000. Coho Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at $30,839,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $29,213,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $179.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $179.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $191.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock worth $9,647,471. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.31.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.