Sei Investments Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,588 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,025 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $15,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $234.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.35. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $166.76 and a 52-week high of $240.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

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.