43,200 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Acquired by Braidwell LP

Braidwell LP acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 43,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,156,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $130,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,194,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 10,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.1% during the second quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $240.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $171.18 and a 1 year high of $247.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

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.