Occidental Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 28,872 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock 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 note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $235.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $216.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $240.13.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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