Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Lowers Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,396 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,436 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $32,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of DGX opened at $243.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $223.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $247.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.