Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Invests $2.40 Million in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,349 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $244.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $221.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $246.00.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $260.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.