Jupiter Topco LLC Invests $2.20 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 10,393 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,847,000 after acquiring an additional 110,280 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $1,965,923,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $6,485,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.5%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $239.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $247.19. The stock has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.11.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.31.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.