Occidental Asset Management LLC Invests $6.12 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,872 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $229,522,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,246,000 after acquiring an additional 811,320 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $133,388,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $124,180,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3%

DGX opened at $235.20 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $216.36 and a 200-day moving average of $203.68. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $240.13. The company has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.