Bellevue Group AG Makes New $8.72 Million Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Bellevue Group AG acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 48,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,724,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $287,337,000 after acquiring an additional 426,399 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.9% in the second quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 176,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,712,000 after purchasing an additional 52,983 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 188,951 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,941,000 after purchasing an additional 18,170 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,820,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 94,461 shares of company stock valued at $17,957,361. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $182.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.61. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.70 and a 12 month high of $197.55. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 37.56%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.