Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 18,268 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 216,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 18,268 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $38,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $184.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.94. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 4,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $829,356.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,244 shares in the company, valued at $3,155,652. This represents a 20.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,232 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.