Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Takes $779,000 Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $779,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $244.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $221.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $246.00. The firm 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

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.