Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires New Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 22,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,702,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $234.48 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $240.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $215.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broad-based earnings estimate increases: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS forecast to $11.15 from $10.66, FY2027 to $11.71 from $11.50, and FY2028 to $12.90 from $12.50. The firm also increased estimates for Q3 and Q4 2026, Q1 through Q3 2027, and Q1 and Q2 2028. These revisions suggest improving expectations for Quest Diagnostics’ earnings growth. MarketBeat analyst estimate updates
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum remains favorable: A Zacks analysis highlighted DGX’s 2.29% weekly gain and evaluated whether the stock can continue to attract momentum investors. The coverage may reinforce positive sentiment following the recent advance. Quest Diagnostics Is Up 2.29% in One Week
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend support: Quest Diagnostics declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 6. The annualized yield is approximately 1.5%, providing ongoing shareholder income. Quest Diagnostics dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: One estimate was lowered: Zacks reduced its Q4 2027 EPS forecast to $2.90 from $3.05, partially offsetting the otherwise positive revisions. The firm’s full-year 2027 and 2028 forecasts nevertheless remain higher than its previous estimates.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.