United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,185 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank OZK acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,247,000. Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $441,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $3,683,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $14,041,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $601,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $243.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.20. The company has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $247.19.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average 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.