Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,588 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 8,025 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $15,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Ossiam boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.31.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $234.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $166.76 and a 12-month high of $240.13.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 36.52%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.