Keybank National Association OH Boosts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 102.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,971 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,054 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $55,587,000. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $29,213,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 53.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 495,654 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $83,864,000 after purchasing an additional 172,518 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Baird R W downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $175.93 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $148.70 and a 12-month high of $197.55. The company has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 44,189 shares of company stock valued at $8,157,857 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.