Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $53.11 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,652 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,549 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Quest Diagnostics worth $53,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 33,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,712,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at $3,267,015.12. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $190.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.75. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $148.70 and a one year high of $197.55. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

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.