QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 67,700 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 78.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 67,700 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.27.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,214.40. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $189.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $21.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.64. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $197.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.90 and a 200-day moving average of $179.84.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

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.