Moran Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,351 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $21,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2%

DGX stock opened at $215.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $217.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.

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.