Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Invests $624,000 in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $6,490,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $444,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,874,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,375,000. Finally, Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,491,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $244.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $221.07 and its 200-day moving average is $206.09. 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 $246.00.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 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 the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.