OFI Invest Asset Management Invests $109,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 609 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $323,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $2,341,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 110.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 5,167 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.63.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $184.28 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.91 and a twelve month high of $191.49. The stock has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $5,293,250.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.