Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 37.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% in the second quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 39,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,185,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 27.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,103,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 88,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,936,000 after buying an additional 25,768 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $183.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $197.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $184.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.18.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 94,461 shares of company stock worth $17,957,361 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on DGX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.31.

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.