Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Invests $203,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,132 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,603 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,147 shares of company stock worth $6,004,376 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $186.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.30. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.