Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 128.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $323,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $1,748,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.3% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after purchasing an additional 493,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 8.9% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,951.21. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 94,461 shares of company stock valued at $17,957,361 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0%

DGX stock opened at $176.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.62. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $148.70 and a 52 week high of $197.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.35 and a 200 day moving average of $179.81.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

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.