Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stake Increased by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $152.99 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $159.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.