Castleark Management LLC Takes $6.67 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 31,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,672,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $244.59 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $171.18 and a 1 year high of $246.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $221.07 and its 200 day moving average is $206.09. The stock has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given 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 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.