Casdin Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Casdin Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,676,000. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 0.5% of Casdin Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $197.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.07. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $164.65 and a one year high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.01%.

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.