G&S Capital LLC Buys 8,225 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

G&S Capital LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 117.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE DGX opened at $177.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.65. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $197.55. The company has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.27.

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.