Tectonic Advisors LLC Buys 109 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,951.21. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,186 shares of company stock valued at $9,647,471. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $181.35 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $146.91 and a 12-month high of $191.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.32%.

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.