Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Raises Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 72.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,324 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 10,188 shares during the quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Key Financial Inc raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $236.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $227.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.31. The stock has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.55. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $247.19.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.