FineMark National Bank & Trust Reduces Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

FineMark National Bank & Trust lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,147 shares of company stock worth $6,004,376 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Baird R W lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $185.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.35. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $148.70 and a 1-year high of $197.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.