Nicholas Company Inc. Has $3.29 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,331 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 22,730 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 101.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $175.93 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.51 and a 200-day moving average of $177.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $197.55.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,765. The trade was a 11.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 44,189 shares of company stock worth $8,157,857 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.