Focused Alpha LLC Purchases Shares of 2,994 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Focused Alpha LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,994 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $275,895,000 after purchasing an additional 228,271 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% in the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,847,000 after purchasing an additional 110,280 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 4,334 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,460,000 after buying an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $235.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $240.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $216.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics 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.