Cornerstone Advisors LLC Invests $10.01 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 47,208 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,006,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3%

DGX stock opened at $235.20 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $240.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $216.36 and its 200-day moving average is $203.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% 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 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.