Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Waterloo Capital L.P.

Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 63,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 746,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $134,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,721 shares in the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 7,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Camden National Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,118 shares of company stock worth $7,127,684. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on DGX. Baird R W cut Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $191.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $183.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $197.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.