Achmea Investment Management B.V. Has $24.61 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $24,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $323,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $264,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $2,760,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $178.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $148.70 and a 1 year high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 4,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $829,356.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,155,652. This trade represents a 20.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,654 shares of company stock worth $7,189,232. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.