3,088 Shares in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Purchased by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $241.80 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $245.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.56. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

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.