Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Cuts Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 111,454 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,406 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $21,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $232,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% during the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $366,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $177.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.65. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.70 and a 12 month high of $197.55.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.