Empowered Funds LLC Invests $2.25 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 10,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DGX. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted 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, Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE DGX opened at $240.72 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $247.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,130,482.27. This trade represents a 37.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.