AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Invests $1.10 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,361 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.3%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $182.86 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $146.17 and a twelve month high of $185.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $365,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,496 shares of company stock worth $4,278,787 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics 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.