Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,058 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,840,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Ossiam raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 835 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $243.11 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $223.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $247.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% 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. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.