Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $2.90 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,127 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.6%

DGX opened at $184.28 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $146.91 and a 1-year high of $191.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.21 and a 200-day moving average of $175.61.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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%.Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.