Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Invests $1.10 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,138 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

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Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,623 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,789 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,603 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $196.31.

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Get Our Latest Research Report on DGX

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This trade represents a 51.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 38,118 shares of company stock valued at $7,127,684 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.3%

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NYSE DGX opened at $189.77 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $148.70 and a 12-month high of $197.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.

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