Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,275 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised 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 valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 4,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $829,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,155,652. This represents a 20.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 38,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,232 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $178.12 on Thursday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.70. The company has a market capitalization of $19.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

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.