Paradiem LLC Sells 7,190 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Paradiem LLC decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,190 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 3.1% of Paradiem LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Paradiem LLC owned about 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $14,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:DGX opened at $207.60 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.17. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $164.65 and a 1 year high of $219.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.58.

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.