Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Purchased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,797 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 22,733.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,043,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,851,428,000 after purchasing an additional 36,881,535 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $1,965,923,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $934,033,000 after purchasing an additional 158,617 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after acquiring an additional 406,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.6%

DGX opened at $234.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $247.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $229.71 and a 200-day moving average of $209.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.31.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,130,482.27. The trade was a 37.65% 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 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing used to help diagnose, monitor and manage diseases and other health conditions, serving physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

Its services include routine blood and urine testing, advanced and esoteric diagnostics, molecular and genetic testing, anatomic pathology, cancer testing, drug screening and wellness-related assessments.